Marketing in Travel and Tourism: A Comprehensive Analysis of Core Concepts, Strategies, and Applications

This assignment delves into the core concepts of marketing within the travel and tourism industry, focusing on the application of these principles to the specific case of London as a tourist destination. It examines the tourism marketing environment, consumer motivations, market segmentation, and the importance of strategic marketing planning. The assignment also analyzes the role of marketing research and market information for tourism sector managers, assessing the positive and negative influences of marketing on society. Finally, it explores the elements of the marketing mix and the concept of the 'total tourism product' with reference to Virgin Atlantic Airlines, providing an integrated promotional campaign plan.

MARKETING IN TRAVEL
AND TOURISM

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................2
TASK 1.........................................................................................................................................3
1.1 DISCUSS THE CORE CONCEPTS OF MARKETING AND APPLY TO THE SELECTED
DESTINATION OF LONDON.....................................................................................................3
1.2 BRIEFLY ANALYSE THE TOURISM MARKETING ENVIRONMENT OF LONDON AND
ASSESS THE IMPACT ON THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM BUSINESSES AND DESTINATION........4
1.3 DISCUSS THE FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER MOTIVATION AND DEMAND FOR
LONDON AS TOURIST DESTINATION, FOR BOTH BUSINESS AND LEISURE TRAVELLERS.......6
1.4 ANALYSE THE PRINCIPLE OF MARKET SEGMENTATION AND DISCUSS HOW IT CAN BE
USED IN DESTINATION MARKETING PLANNING....................................................................7
TASK 2.........................................................................................................................................9
2.1 CRITICALLY ANALYSE THE IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGIC MARKETING PLANNING FOR
LONDON AS A TOURIST DESTINATION...................................................................................9
2.2 DISCUSS THE RELEVANCE OF MARKETING RESEARCH AND MARKET INFORMATION TO
TRAVEL AND TOURISM SECTOR MANAGERS AT VISIT LONDON.........................................10
2.3 ASSESS THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE INFLUENCE OF MARKETING ON THE SOCIETY. .11
TASK 3.......................................................................................................................................12
3.1 IDENTIFY THE ELEMENTS OF MARKETING MIX AND DISCUSS THE ISSUES OF
DESIGNING AND DEVELOPING THE PRODUCTS, PRICES AND PLACE ELEMENTS FOR VIRGIN
ATLANTIC..............................................................................................................................12
3.2 ASSESS AND DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVICES SECTOR MIX ELEMENTS..........13
3.3 APPLY AND DISCUSS THE CONCEPT OF THE ‘TOTAL TOURISM PRODUCT’ AT VIRGIN
ATLANTIC..............................................................................................................................14
TASK 4.......................................................................................................................................15
4.1 ASSESS THE INTEGRATED NATURE AND ROLE OF PROMOTIONAL MIX WITH
REFERENCE TO VIRGIN ATLANTIC........................................................................................15
1

4.2 PLAN AND JUSTIFY AN INTEGRATED PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR VIRGIN ATLANTIC
..............................................................................................................................................16
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................17
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................18
2

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is one of the broad term as well as an activity for every organization in all the
sectors. Marketing is an act of delivering the quality products as well as services to the
customers in order to increase the sales for maximising the profit for the company. The
ultimate goal of every activity of the marketing is to enhance customer satisfaction level
(Lovelock, 2011). The aim of this subsequent assignment is to develop a general
understanding of the core concept of marketing in the tourism sector by adopting
differentiation and pricing policies to gain competitive advantage.
It will also assess the impact of marketing environment in the tourist destination of London
that is London Eye and Up at The O2. Furthermore, the importance of strategic marketing
and impact of marketing on the society will be analysed and assessed in this assignment.
Virgin Atlantic Airlines is one of the British Airlines in the UK. At last, an assessment will be
carried out to understand the role of the promotional mix with reference to Visit London
Airlines.
3

TASK 1
1.1 DISCUSS THE CORE CONCEPTS OF MARKETING AND APPLY TO THE
SELECTED DESTINATION OF LONDON
Marketing is the terms defined differently by various people as per the changing
circumstances, however, the core concepts are the ones that possess the clarity, relevance,
wide acceptance and verifiable understanding of the marketing process for Visit London that
directs the services flow in tourism sector:
NEEDS, DEMANDS, WANTS: one of the major concepts is to understand the difference
between the needs, demands and wants of the customers for the services while offering
tourism packages for visiting tourist destination in London that is London Eye and Up at The
O2 (Wilson, et al. 2012).
MARKETING OFFERS: marketing offers are both tangible and intangible products as well as
services offered to the customer while visiting the destination such as London Eye and Up at
The O2. It is essential for the market offerings to meet the expectation and requirements of
the customers at a considerable price.
CUSTOMER VALUE AND SATISFACTION: customer value is referred to the capacity and
capability of the products and services offered to the visitors that derive the level of
satisfaction among them (Cooper, 2012).
EXCHANGE, TRANSACTION AND RELATIONSHIPS: the transaction is the deal occurs
between the tour operators and tourists by exchanging products or services in terms of
money and builds positive relationships between them (Wilson, et al. 2012).
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1.2 BRIEFLY ANALYSE THE TOURISM MARKETING ENVIRONMENT OF
LONDON AND ASSESS THE IMPACT ON THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM
BUSINESSES AND DESTINATION
The tourism marketing environment includes both micro and macro environment that
impacts the operations of the Visit London Airlines and also the destinations such as London
Eye and Up at The O2:
MICRO ENVIRONMENT
Competitors: the intense competition in the tourism sector that includes competitors such
as Air India, British Airways, Easy Jet and Ryanair influence the operations of Visit London
Airlines by offering the same tour packages for visiting London Eye and Up at The O2 in
competitive pricing (Cooper, 2012).
Customers: the expectations and requirements of the customers impact the tour packages
offered by the tour operator such as Visit London Airlines. The company is a recognisable
organization in the market that offered the high-quality services to the visitors and tourists
(Buckley, 2011).
Suppliers: supplier and intermediaries also impact the operations of Visit London Airlines as
it supply quality services and products to the customers for visiting destinations like London
Eye and Up at The O2 (Cooper, 2012).
MACRO ENVIRONMENT
Political: a survey was taken by asking the representatives and stakeholders at London WTM
exhibition regarding the impact of Brexit on the tourism in the UK. About 42 percent people
agreed on the negative impact in 2016 and about 62 percent agreed on the negative impact
of Brexit on UK tourism. The short-term political instability due to Brexit referendum
created an uncertainty and political upheaval leading to volatility in the financial markets in
the UK (Statistica, 2018). The accessibility to the single Aviation market of the EU is to be
considered to enable Visit London Airlines to flourish.
5

Fig 1 impact of Brexit on the UK tourism destination
[Source: Statistica, 2018]
Economic: the economic impact of the tourism industry is positive as the direct contribution
of the tourism industry to GDP was GBP 66.3 billion that is 3.4 per cent of the total GDP in
2016. The total contribution of the tourism sector to GDP was GBP 209.0 billion which is
about 10.8 per cent of the GDP in 2016 (Unitedkingdom, 2017). The total contribution of the
tourism sector to employment in the UK is about 11.9 per cent of the total employment in
2016 (Unitedkingdom, 2017).
Fig 2 Economic Impact
[Source: unitedkingdom2017.pdf]
6

1.3 DISCUSS THE FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER MOTIVATION AND
DEMAND FOR LONDON AS TOURIST DESTINATION, FOR BOTH BUSINESS
AND LEISURE TRAVELLERS
There are various psychological, social, cultural and personal factors that affect the
motivations and demand of the customers for making the decision to visit London. The
below are the two sections of the customers who are motivated to demand the tour
packages to visit London Eye and Up at The O2 in London:
BUSINESS TRAVELLERS
Occupation, roles and status of any business person that is personal and psychological
factors, act as the motivational factors to demand the tour package to visit those
destinations in London (Morgan and Pritchard, 2012). The income earned and designation of
the businessperson forms the motivating factor to select for the location such as London.
For example, if the disposable income of businessperson is adequate enough to select the
tourist destination then it will inspire him/her to visit London.
LEISURE TRAVELLERS
Reference group and family are the social factors that inspire any leisure traveller to visit the
location such as London (Ritchie, et al. 2010). For example, the positive reviews and
feedbacks given by the reference group will affect the decision making of the travellers
while planning for holidays.
7

1.4 ANALYSE THE PRINCIPLE OF MARKET SEGMENTATION AND DISCUSS
HOW IT CAN BE USED IN DESTINATION MARKETING PLANNING
Segmenting the market in the tourism sector is referred to the process of classifying the
customers or travellers into the segment or subdivision according to the characteristics,
features and other elements of the buyer or traveller (Hsu, et al. 2010). The significance of
the principle of the market segment is to understand as well as identify the dissimilarities in
the varied subdivisions of the market. The four types of market segmentation are:
Fig market segmentation
[Source: https://insights2marketing.wordpress.com/market-segmentation/]
Behavioural: behavioural segmentation is done according to the behaviour or act of the
segmented customers towards the products (Wedel and Kamakura, 2012). It includes
considering the benefits of the products, usage rates, usage situation, status and loyalty of
the buyers towards the products.
Psychographic: the customers are subdivided on the basis of attitudes, activities, opinions,
lifestyles, knowledge, preferences and their decision-making process to select for the
holiday packages of visiting London Eye and Up at The O2 by Visit London Airlines (Wedel
and Kamakura, 2012).
8

Geographical: the customers are subdivided on the basis of their geographical locations
such as region, size of town or city, population density or climate.
Demographic: the customers are segmented on the basis of their demographic features
such as age, income, ethnicity, gender, occupation, religion, social class, education and so
on (Morrison, 2013).
In order to segment the customers in the market, Visit London Airlines need to use
demographic and geographical segmentation. A maximum number of the travellers who
have high lifestyle choices and high disposable income may visit the defined destination
specifically for leisure and recreation in this holiday package.
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TASK 2
2.1 CRITICALLY ANALYSE THE IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGIC MARKETING
PLANNING FOR LONDON AS A TOURIST DESTINATION
Strategic marketing planning is a continuous process which is used by the companies such as
Visit London in order to create strategies and plans to be implemented in the target market.
Visit London uses strategic marketing planning for avoiding impulsive decisions making
(Dolnicar and Ring, 2014). It is a procedure that includes data collection from the market
through market research and an analysis is done to utilise the information in setting long-
term marketing goals.
The significance of using strategic marketing planning for tourist destination such as London
are It helps in identifying and setting future directions of the business thereby establishing
solid and tangible goals. It assists in eliminating unproductive initiatives further focusing on
important factors (Evans, et al. 2012). It helps in carefully designed the framework by
referencing the budget, customer services and course of action by giving an in-depth
understanding of the target markets and also on customers.
It will also help in successfully running the marketing division through a well-structured
marketing plan (Swanson and Edgell Sr, 2013). Thus strategic marketing planning is
essentially be used by Visit London to ensure reduced wastage, survival planning, high
customer satisfaction, high productivity, high morale and limited conflicts and better and
effective decision making.
10

2.2 DISCUSS THE RELEVANCE OF MARKETING RESEARCH AND MARKET
INFORMATION TO TRAVEL AND TOURISM SECTOR MANAGERS AT VISIT
LONDON
Marketing research is essential for all the organizations in travel and tourism industry as it
helps in understanding the characteristics, attitudes opinions and preferences of the visitors
in the travelling business (Buhalis and Michopoulou, 2011). It also helps in identifying the
opportunities and threats in the new market and also monitors the performance of the
tourism sector. By deriving the relevant information of the tourism market and expectations
and requirements of the customers, tourism organization such as Visit London can take
calculated decisions and make effective plans to provide enhanced customers satisfaction
level and provide better service.
One of the challenges in conducting the market research is that it cannot be carried out in a
hasty manner (Crouch and Housden, 2012). The marketing research also helps in analysing
the level of competitions in the market. It also helps in anticipating the strategies used by
the company or the products or services being offered by the competitors in the market
(Crouch and Housden, 2012). Any changes in the external environmental factors can be
analysed to modify the current business practices to increase its sales and profitability.
These are some of the significance of carrying out market research by the tourism
organization such as Visit London.
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2.3 ASSESS THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE INFLUENCE OF MARKETING ON
THE SOCIETY
The following are the positive as well as negative impact of marketing on the society:
POSITIVE IMPACT
Regulation and public policy: regulation and public policy impact the society in a positive
manner as it safeguards the interest of the customers, travellers and individuals (Kim, et al.
2013). The tourism business such as Visit London considers the regulation as well as a public
policy to offer quality products and services to the visitors and travellers.
Ethics: ethics in the marketing is referred to the application of ethical norms in the
marketing process (Kim, et al. 2013). Ethics in marketing can be beneficial for the society in
both long-term and short-term. Ethics in the marketing can be connected with the social
responsibility in order to market the products and services.
Social responsibility: the terms that are ethics and social responsibility are interchangeably
used in the marketing. Social responsibility is referred to the complete effect of the
marketing practices on society (Crouch and Housden, 2012). It is essential for the marketing
team to consider the values and beliefs of the society by monitoring the trends to achieve
company’s objectives.
NEGATIVE IMPACT
False image: through marketing, general image is formed which influences the people in the
long run as they feel inferior about themselves such as their appearance (Buhalis and
Michopoulou, 2011). The images of an individual such as characteristics, features, and traits
represented in the marketing are often unrealistic and unattainable, for example, ads of
people visiting various locations.
Unrealistic expectations: marketing creates a high level of expectation towards the services
or products offered by tourism organizations (Crouch and Housden, 2012). Failing to deliver
the marketed products or services in the tour package creates a negative image of the
company in the society.
Misrepresentation: some time the tourism company promotes or advertises those products
or services which increases the expectations of the customers. Misrepresentation of the
services leads to failure making the customer feel mistreated.
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TASK 3
3.1 IDENTIFY THE ELEMENTS OF MARKETING MIX AND DISCUSS THE
ISSUES OF DESIGNING AND DEVELOPING THE PRODUCTS, PRICES AND
PLACE ELEMENTS FOR VIRGIN ATLANTIC
Various issues such as wastage of time increased the cost of the tour, improper resource
optimizations are faced by the tourism company while deciding the marketing mix elements.
The below are the various issues to be considered while taking decisions on elements of
marketing mix.
PRODUCTS: the products offered by Virgin Atlantic is the intangible services that are to be
used by the travellers while visiting London Eye and Up at The O2. Products offered by Virgin
Atlantic are the three-class configurations in its aircraft that is the economy, premium
economy and upper business class (Buhalis and Michopoulou, 2011).
PRICE: the pricing strategy of the tour operator is clear and precise. It is essential for the
tour operator Virgin Atlantic to offer the quality of products and services at considerable
prices. This is crucial for them in gaining competitive advantage in this fierce competition.
The issues faced by the company are upsurge fuel prices, taxes and profit margins and so
on.
PLACE: distributing channels, organizing trips and tours, attractive destinations are some of
the issues faced by Virgin Atlantic. About 39 flights of Virgin Atlantic serve about 29
destinations (Virgin Atlantic, 2018). Updated offline and online presence is essential for the
company to offer its products and service to customers (Morrison, 2013).
13

3.2 ASSESS AND DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVICES SECTOR MIX
ELEMENTS
Apart from the 4 elements of the marketing mix, additional 3 elements are considered as
the service sector mixes that are physical evidence, process and people. They are given
below:
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE: the tour operator Virgin Atlantic operates from three locations in the
UK and serves about 29 destinations with its 39 flights. The head offices in the Crawley, UK
carries out activities such as sales, call centres, support department, baggage claims and
tracing, customer relation department and so on (Virgin Atlantic, 2018). Major office located
in the locations such as Norwalk, Shanghai, Barbados, Johannesburg and Lagos ensures the
physical presence of the company.
PEOPLE: more than 9000 employees work for Virgin Atlantic. Their employee treats the
customers with utmost respect and courtesy (Virgin Atlantic, 2018). The candidates
employed in the company provide enjoyable experience through their interpersonal skills to
make the customers feel comfortable (Evans, et al. 2012).
PROCESS: the products offered by the company such as tour to London to visit London Eye
and Up at The O2 are assessed for its quality to provide maximum customer satisfaction.
The products and service offered by Virgin Atlantic provide a memorable experience to its
customers. The company offered to visit London Eye and Up at The O2 in their tour to
London (Evans, et al. 2012).
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3.3 APPLY AND DISCUSS THE CONCEPT OF THE ‘TOTAL TOURISM PRODUCT’
AT VIRGIN ATLANTIC
Total tourism products can be referred to the group of elements or components brought
together to form a bundle to satisfy the expectations, needs and requirements of the
consumers. It is an assortment of different industries such as hotel, travel agency, airlines
and so on (Morgan and Pritchard, 2012). Tourism products include physical objectives,
personalities, places, ideas, services that are designed as augmented products proved to be
beneficial in providing a memorable experience to the traveller or visitor.
The total tourism product offered by the company includes various elements such as
attractive services, healthy food, and a visit to historical and natural places and so on in
order to increase the satisfaction level of the customer as per expectations.
Accommodation, travelling and meals facilities are provided to the customers in the total
tourism product (Morgan and Pritchard, 2012). It is essential for Virgin Atlantic to maintain
the quality of the products served to the customers as it will represent the image of the
company. The products and services offered by the company should be at an affordable
price.
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TASK 4
4.1 ASSESS THE INTEGRATED NATURE AND ROLE OF PROMOTIONAL MIX
WITH REFERENCE TO VIRGIN ATLANTIC
Promotional mix is referred to the combination of various ranges of marketing
communication methods used by the tourism organization to effectively execute its
marketing activities. Some of the common methods of marketing communication to be used
by Virgin Atlantic are advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion. The
aim of Virgin Atlantic to use marketing communication methods is to ensure that clear,
truthful and accurate information are communicated to convince the traveller to select the
tour or holiday package (Kim, et al. 2013). It is one of the most critical elements that
determine the success of tourism business such as Virgin Atlantic as it helps in
differentiating the products and services to appeal to certain segments of the market. It
creates enduring brand loyalty and results in generating more revenue for the growth and
progress of the business.
Fig 3 Elements of the promotional mix
[Source: http://www.themarketingguywhodrivessales.com/crashcourse/promix.htm]
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4.2 PLAN AND JUSTIFY AN INTEGRATED PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR
VIRGIN ATLANTIC
Product promotion is very important for any business as it creates a lasting impact on the
customers. In the present scenario, it is essential for the company to use promotional mix
tools for the integrated promotional campaign. The tools of promotion mix can be used to
create customer value thereby building customers relationships in a persuasive manner.
ADVERTISING: advertising is one of the most commonly used marketing communication
method by any every organization. Mass media such as radio, newspaper, television and
magazine are employed to advertise tailored-made messages to target individuals as per
their profile characteristics or behaviours (Smith and Zook, 2011). Pamphlets and leaflets,
digital hoardings and banners are used at public places to communicate with a large number
of customers.
PERSONAL SELLING: relationships are developed by using personal selling method with the
aim to sell the tourism products and services to target customers (Smith and Zook, 2011).
Major emphasis is given by Virgin Atlantic on face-to-face interaction, products or services
demonstration to create value and understanding the needs of the travellers.
PUBLIC RELATION: maintain good relationships with the general public by gaining
favourable and positive publicity in order to build a good corporate image. It also focuses on
handling or heading off unfavourable events, rumours and stories (Smith and Zook, 2011).
The public relation campaigns can be implemented by Virgin Atlantic through newsletters,
press releases, social media, grand openings or any major event.
17

CONCLUSION
Thus the conclusion is that marketing cannot be avoided by tourism organizations as well. It
helps in creating strategies and plans to effectively interact with the targeted customers in
order to sell the products and services offered by the tourism companies (Lovelock, 2011).
Competition is very intense in the tourism industry due to the presences of large companies
offering effective as well as efficient services. Principles of marketing are to be effectively
applied in the tourism organizations to progress and grow in the market. It is also essential
for the company to consider the interest of the society.
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