Tourism Marketing Strategies and Management

This assignment delves into the realm of tourism marketing management. It examines various strategies employed in the industry, drawing upon relevant case studies for illustration. The influence of social media on contemporary tourism marketing is also discussed, highlighting its significance as a hybrid element within the promotional mix. The document emphasizes the evolution of tourism marketing practices and the adaptation to new trends and technologies.

MARKETING
IN TRAVEL
AND
TOURISM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Core concepts of marketing in travel and tourism sector .....................................................1
1.2 Impact of marketing environment on individual travel and tourism businesses and tourist
destinations .................................................................................................................................2
1.3 Factors affecting consumer motivation and demand in travel and tourism sector ...............4
1.4 Principles of market segmentation .......................................................................................4
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Importance of the strategic marketing planning ...................................................................5
2.2 Relevance of marketing research and information ...............................................................5
2.3 Assessing positive and negative influence of marketing .....................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
3.1 Issues within product, price and place elements of marketing mix......................................6
3.2 Importance of service sector mix elements to the travel sector............................................7
3.3 the concept of the total tourism product to an individual tourism business..........................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
4.1 Role and nature of promotional mix.....................................................................................8
4.2 Integrated promotional campaign for Thomas Cook ...........................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Marketing can be defined as an activity of organization which is generally associated
with buying and selling of a product or service. It involves market research, determining price,
selecting a proper distribution channel and implementing a successful promotional message
(Stamboulis and Skayannis, 2003). Further, it is also a process of the identification and
anticipation of demands of the target market so that business organization can generate more
revenue and profitability. It further helps in developing effective brand image in the eyes of
customers. The same concept applies for the promotion in travel and tourism sector in which
travel agencies imply it effectively in order to attract more individuals towards its services
throughout the globe. Further, definition is also given by American Marketing Association as it
is an activity for creating, communicating and exchanging offers with the clients.
The present report is based on understanding the core concepts of marketing in the travel
and tourism sector. This report also emphasizes on identifying the factors which affect the
consumer motivation and demand in travel and tourism sector. Moreover, for the successful
presentation of the report, Thomas Cook has been taken as a tour operator.
TASK 1
1.1 Core concepts of marketing in travel and tourism sector
Assistant marketing manager of Thomas Cook has an opportunity to create a summer
2016 holidays package for Egypt and Morocco. Thomas Cook is a British global travel company
which develops effective tour packages for different countries so that customers can have best of
their tour journey throughout the globe. Mentioned organization also have to consider some core
concepts and these have been explained down under: Product orientation- In this, whatever organization develops becomes the major focus of
management attention. Organization majorly developed on their products and services to
increase their revenue and profits. Sales orientation: Under this, cited firm uses their ability to increase the sale of their
products and services with the help of different selling techniques. Organization focuses
on satisfying the customer needs and demands.
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 Marketing orientation: Marketing orientation is treated as a business model that
emphasize on delivering the design of the product according to the needs and demands of
the customers.
Further, mentioned company in order to promote their tour destination should consider
some major points which will play a crucial role in the concept of marketing. These are: Needs of the customers: Travel and tourism industry is having their own significance and
cited firm develops effective tour packages by considering the potential needs and
demands of customers (Govindarajan, 2007). Customers need is to get best of the tour
package at an affordable price so that it can be in their budget. Currently, Thomas Cook
is promoting the beauty of Egypt and Morocco which is an amazing destination for
summer holidays. Product and Service market: Service market generally focuses on identifying that what
Thomas Cook is providing to their customers. Further, by having effective operations in
the travel and tourism industry, cited firm has to do extensive research before imposing
planned tour packages to the individuals. Moreover, if clients do not like their tour
package then Thomas Cook will not be able to recover the amount spent on research and
also will lack with the profit at the end of year (The Importance of Marketing in Tourism.
2015). Giving attention and satisfaction to clients: Manager along with the management have to
identify the needs of their clients. Further, company has to value the perception of its
customers and give them assured satisfaction that they will receive the best of the facility
from Thomas Cook (Tinson, 2004). In order to meet this, healthy and effective services
need to be delivered to the customers. Apart from it, different types of customers connect
with the organization who have different types of needs and demands in respect to the
travel plan, accommodation facilities and other services. Cited firm has to consider all
these elements so that they can develop a large chain of loyal customer base and can
increase their profit significantly.
 Relationship marketing: Relationship marketing for the cited firm plays a significant role
as they have to develop an effective interpersonal relationship with their clients. This will
result into clearly interacting with the clients and delivering effective tour packages.
More clients will result into more revenue and profits for the firm.
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1.2 Impact of marketing environment on individual travel and tourism businesses and tourist
destinations
Marketing environment for travel and tourism business as well as destination can be
understood with the help of micro and macro environmental analysis. As travel and tourism
industry is mostly depended on the preferences of customers, there is vast impact of marketing
environment on the business operations of Thomas Cook (Glynn and Woodside, 2012).
Micro environment analysis of Egypt and Morocco:-
Strength’s
Both Egypt and Morocco have large geographical area which consists hills, forest and
mountains. Further, different culture and religious people reside together but majorly Muslims
have more dominance as compared to other countries.
Weakness:
Lack in safety and security of travellers is the major drawback. Further, lack in adequate
infrastructure and maintenance having their own significance in the development of the country
which they have to look over.
Opportunities:
Increase in privatization, development of first-class class hotels and resorts, taking
initiative of going go green to protect environment are the opportunities for these countries.
Threats:
Terrorism, economic slowdown, effective promotion by other countries act as major
threats and countries have to overcome these in coming time period.
Macro environment analysis
Political: Political environment of both Egypt and Morocco is different and Thomas
Cook have to take relative steps in order to aware the government of mentioned countries
regarding some of the changes. These changes are in form of visa, passport and other formalities
so that they can easily greet their guests within the country. Further, with more tourist within the
country, it will lead into more economic development (Madsen and Pedersen, 2013). Moreover,
hospitality industry is also getting tremendous support from the government as with the help of
them, new discounts vouchers can be introduced so that hotel firm can attract more of the
visitors.
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Economic: Government of both Egypt and Morocco have modified their economic
policies since after the year 2003. Liberalization policy have been come into play which
increasing the attraction of individuals from one country to the other. With the implementation of
that, there were significant boost of the travellers from throughout the globe. Moreover, local
body is also focusing on cutting down the tax prices on airline services as low cost airlines will
attract more guests.
Social: Travellers have their own taste and preference, while the native people have their
own. This change in taste and preferences of people impact the business environment as well as
tourist destination to a great extent. Thomas Cook keeps this thing into consideration and makes
tour packages efficiently and effectively. Further, development of world class hotels has reduced
the problem of food as different varieties and types of food are available within the tourist
destination.
Technological: Egypt and Morocco lack in E-tourism; therefore, government of both the
countries have to take necessary steps in order to promote tourist destinations in around the
globe. Further, enhancement in technology is the major element which can help Thomas Cook to
achieve better result for future time period.
1.3 Factors affecting consumer motivation and demand in travel and tourism sector
Consumer motivation and demand generally depends on various factors. Further, in order
to fulfill and satisfy the demands of the traveller's within travel and tourism industry, Thomas
Cook have to take some relatives steps in order to enhance the standards of their services (Tsai,
2009). Majorly the income level of the individuals, price of the tour package and the marketing
activities adopted by the mentioned organization are considered as elements which affects the
consumer motivation. Some major issues are discussed down under: Customers perception- Travelers are the source of earning for tour operating company
and cited firm have to take some relative steps in order to satisfy them. Further, one's
perception also affects the operations of the cited firm as for instance one can prefer to go
to Egypt and Morocco to see the monuments and historical culture because they are fond
of. But one who is adventurous and fun loving cannot plan their schedule for the
mentioned trip. Culture of country- Egypt and Morocco is a destination which attracts tourists towards it
because of their antique monuments and land of ancient civilization. However, it can
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affect the client's mentality if they have to follow a specific culture (Eiriz and Wilson,
2006). Moreover, if a person do not find a direct or simple route to a destination then this
can generally impact the motivational level of customers
 Customer’s orientation- Thomas Cook acts as a mediator between the country's as well as
customers. Mentioned firm also guarantees to satisfy all needs and wants of consumers
without any consequences and problems. Traveller's will only pay if they get effective
services in terms of quality and get value of the money so invested.
1.4 Principles of market segmentation
Market segmentation is considered as a marketing strategy which includes division of
different target market on the basis of different consumer groups, countries who has common
needs, interest and priorities. Market segmentation plays a crucial role in travel and tourism
industry as it helps venture to increase their revenue and profit. It is related with the marketing
planning because Thomas Cook first have to segment their offer and then they have to plan
policies to fulfil the market segmentation criteria.
Thomas Cook being a travel operating company need to group their traveller's who have
common needs and also respond in the same or possible way for the best outcome. Further, cited
firm can have segmentation on the basis of geographic, demographic, behaviour, income level,
gender etc.
Geographic segmentation- Here organization divides there market on basis of the geography. In
this, Thomas Cook will emphasize on single city or a location where they willing to take the
travellers (Vignali and Zundel, 2003). Apart from it, geographic segmentation can be also done
on the basis of country and state.
Demographic segmentation- Here, the market is divided into different segments on the basis of
the age, income level, family size, etc. Thomas Cook can segment their travelers in different
demographic components like age, family size, occupation of consumer, etc.
Behavior segmentation- This segment emphasize on traveler’s behaviour for particular service
which is given by travel and tourism industry. This segmentation includes brand loyalty,
individuals status and their satisfaction to choose the tour packages according to their earning.
Income level- Income level means disposable income which an individual can spent on
travelling. Thomas Cook divides income according to income level of individuals and prepare
different tour packages as per a traveler’s budget.
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Gender- Thomas Cook takes both males and females travellers for the tour and firm do not
discriminate on any racial basis (Ballantyne, 2006). Further, the age group has been defined as
whom they are planning to take on tour.
TASK 2
2.1 Importance of the strategic marketing planning
Strategic marketing planning is considered as a tool which helps organization to develop
effective strategies in order to attain success and also develop goodwill. In regard to travel and
tourism business, it is important for tour operators such as Thomas Cook to develop effective
long term planning so that target consumers can be attracted effectively. Moreover, management
of Thomas Cook is doing their best to attract large number on individuals towards Morocco.
Further, by considering different internal and external factors, management can solve different
issues.
Moreover, with the help of effective market research, manager of Thomas Cook will able
to characterize both demand and supply in order to have a sound information base along with
low risk (Stamboulis and Skayannis, 2003). With effective market research, manager will also
analyze number of tourist consumption. Along with it Thomas Cook will also make decisions
relating to different tour packages days of tour, age group, hotels to be stayed, and various other
options.
2.2 Relevance of marketing research and information
Market research can be defined as a process of gathering of information of both
individuals and organization with the help of using different techniques and tools. Thomas Cook
does the same in order to attract customer’s towards their tour packages.
As stated above as well, Thomas Cook have to conduct an efficient market research and
also have to obtain all the important information for developing tour packages for clients. In
order to successfully implement this, manager of Thomas Cook can take the help of secondary
source and collect data accordingly (Hall, Timothy and Duval, 2012). Further, Thomas Cook
have to check that how many 4 star and 5 start hotels exists in Morocco and Egypt so that they
can give best of the facilities and accommodation to the customer’s.
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Further, after making appropriate research, manager have to derive the particular
information to the traveller's. After, that the opinion of clients will make all the difference that
whether they would like to got to Egypt or Morocco (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Thomas Cook
at last can divide all the categories according to the guests interest and then decide the tour
package accordingly.
2.3 Assessing positive and negative influence of marketing
There are different factors like economic, social and cultural aspects that influences the
marketing activities of Thomas Cook. These are explained down under: Economic impact- Marketing activities carried out by Thomas Cook attracts consumers
across the globe. Thus, it helps country to generate revenue and also help in promoting
economic development within country. Further, the economic condition of Egypt has
modified since 2003 which enhancing more travellers to the country from throughout the
globe. Social factors- Here, Thomas Cook marketing team have to advertise the clients
regarding the unique sculptures and monuments which exists in Egypt to clients and thus
promote the country by greeting tourists coming from throughout the globe (Li and
Petrick, 2008).
 Cultural aspect- Marketing activities carried out by Thomas Cook helps in accelerating
tourism in different countries. These also develops the GDP and lead to more earning
within the country. However, it is important for tour operator to save the culture of the
country and not let them to impact as it might lead into loss of the nation uniqueness.
TASK 3
3.1 Issues within product, price and place elements of marketing mix
As Thomas Cook is launching their summer 2016 holidays tour package to Morocco and
Egypt, they have to understand the role of different marketing mix elements so that they get
more of the customer’s attention (Concept And Meaning Of Tourism Product. 2015). Marketing
mix for cited firm has discussed down under: Product- Product here means the tour package and it should consist of well
accommodated, attractive, with effective transportation facility, shopping arena,
restaurants, hotels and different others. Cited firm has to consider all these factors at the
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time of designing tour packages for Egypt and Morocco. Further, the service which
Thomas Cook is rendering should give best of the comfort to individuals so that their
needs and demands are satisfied in significant manner. Price- Tour package price should be as per the affordability of clients as Thomas Cook
cannot force them to choose that particular designed package (Richardson and Fluker,
2004). Further, they also have to decide the duration of the tour, competitor’s tour
packages, way of transport, destination location, etc. Moreover, the price of the service
need to be in the budget of the clients which will significantly lead into consuming that
particular product. Place- Morocco and Egypt are the places which are designed for the summer 2016
holidays and Thomas Cook have to successfully design it with best benefits to the
traveler’s. Thomas Cook has decided this place which will satisfy the needs of tourist in
an utmost manner.
 Promotion- Promotional activities have their importance and firm have to use best
promotional strategy to make their service visible in the eyes of customers. Moreover,
promotion can be done with the help of advertisement in newspaper, Radio, TV, banners,
social media, etc.
3.2 Importance of service sector mix elements to the travel sector
Marketing mix is the combination of two mixes product mix and service mix. Service
mix plays vital role in driving sales and profit to organization. Thomas cook include all its
components such as nature of services, packaging, quality of services and partnerships
Nature of services
It includes kind of services it offers such as Thomas cook provide wide range of products
such as accommodation, financial services, entertainment, transport etc. These services attracts
clients towards the hospitality firm and with that they will be able to achieve their goals and
objectives.
Quality
Quality is enhanced by inculcation of the latest features in the services. Further,
employees of Thomas cook are trained to provide personalized and thoughtful services (Hall,
Timothy and Duval, 2012). Further, they have staff who are multi skilled and functions their
business operations with best of their efficiency and capability.
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Packaging
Effectual packages are prepared by including all the services and differentiating on the
basis of budget and requirements. It enables to consolidate larger number of travelers with the
organization.
Partnerships
Good relational constructs are maintained by Thomas cook with their suppliers and other
organizations in the form of vertical and horizontal integration. This process eventually helps the
business organization to develop their goodwill whole around the globe and subsequently
increase their profits as well.
3.3 the concept of the total tourism product to an individual tourism business
Organizations working in the travel and tourism sector caters to provide the optimum
level of services to their customers. The domain of operations of travel and tourism sector has
been widened to the great extent by inculcating several components other that accommodation. It
includes food service operations, insurances, entertainment, transport facilities and other related.
Total tourism product model that is an integrated approach is adopted by Thomas cook for the
campaigning of its package to Egypt and Morocco. In this model many organization collaborate
together to provide personalized and thoughtful services to their patrons. In includes vertical
integration and horizontal integration. In vertical integration, Thomas cook integrate with
organizations providing similar kind of services such as “MY TRAVEL” to improve the
efficiency level (Timothy, 2011). While in horizontal integration Thomas cook by collaborating
with other companies such as Airlines, transport agencies, financial service providers and many
to facilitate the travelers with all the services at one place. By adopting this model Thomas cook
enables the process of making their journey more comfortable and make its services
distinguished to capture the attention of wide stream of patrons.
TASK 4
4.1 Role and nature of promotional mix
Promotional mix is considered as an major element of one of the four P's in the marketing
mix. This promotion mix consists of components like sales promotion, personal selling,
advertising, etc. Further, is the blend of four components used by marketeers to promote the
offerings of the organization (Collison and Spears, 2010). Thomas cook well utilizes this tool to
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reach large number of people. Ways adopted by Thomas cook for the promotion of its package to
Egypt and Morocco are:
Advertisements
Promotion of package is done at different platforms such as by preparing lucrative and
attractive ads at web pages, posting ads on the official magazines of Thomas cook, nations
hospitality magazine and other booklets in the field (Bordoni, 2011).
Personal selling
This is the lucrative method adopted by Thomas cook to connect with different travelers.
In this direct campaigning methods employees colloquy with travelers to provide information
about their offerings and seek their needs and requirements. This enables them to consolidate
with many people.
Sales promotion
Wide range of discount offers are made to make it available to wide stream of people.
Sales promotion is done by Thomas cook using internet as a medium in the form of digital
marketing, display marketing and search engine optimization (Uzama, 2009).
4.2 Integrated promotional campaign for Thomas Cook
As mentioned earlier Thomas Cook is planning to organize a summer camp in Morocco
and Egypt in 2016. Structure of the plan is that first organization will promote their tour package
to different customers in order to attract them. Secondly, these customers will be convedyed
regarding the accommodation and the facilities the will be getting in Morocco and Egypt. Next,
they will advertise their tour package with help of different promotional techniques and at last
the summer trip will be conducted with the desired customers. Further, in order to formulate and
implement a proper promotional campaign it will follow certain steps which are following:
 First of all, the company will target it customers to be made aware and promoted towards
the holiday champion. It has planned to focus on wide range of customers from kids,
youngsters, adults and the aged group. The corporation is not interested to make it a
target customer oriented program.
 It will provide various financial, infrastructural and entertaining services to make the trip
comfortable and luxurious for the visitors. The company will make collaborations with
airline groups, insurance and financial institutions in order to provide frequent and
convenient services (Richardson and Fluker, 2004).
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 After availing various essential civic amenities to its customers, the management will
lead emphasizes on promotional and marketing tools and techniques. Advertising through
brochures, magazines, organizing promotional events, making use of social networking
websites and availing discounts and offer will be some of its marketing strategies.
 The management will make sure that summer trip is coordinated and conducted in
efficient manner. They will make sure loopholes and drawbacks are effectively managed.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is clearly revealed that tour and travel industry has to conduct an
effective market research to develop attractive tour packages for the customers. Further, this
report showcase that SWOT and PEST analysis is been conducted which shows the country is in
developing form and this is the reason for more of the tourist attraction. Further, this report
briefly analyses the effective service of Thomas Cook which use different ways to attract
customers through their tour packages.
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