Tourism Consumer Behaviour and Insight

This project report aims at understanding the different aspects of consumer behaviour and gathering insights which can help an organisation to make better sales and revenue. The report also evaluated the importance of mapping customer purchase journey and how marketers can influence the different stages of tourism decision-making.

Tourism Consumer
Behaviour and Insight
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Investigate the different cultural, social, personal and psychological factors that influence
consumer behaviour and attitude within a tourism context.........................................................3
P2 Explore how consumer trends are changing due to the impact of digital technology............5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P3 Examine the stages of the consumer decision-making journey and map a path to the
purchasing for a given tourism service........................................................................................6
P4 Explore why it is important for marketers to map a path to purchase and understand
consumer decision-making in the tourism sector........................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
P5 Compare and contrast the key differences of the hospitality decision-making process in the
context of B2C and B2B using specific tourism examples.........................................................8
P6 Evaluate the different approaches to market research and methods of research used for
understanding the decision-making process................................................................................9
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
P7 Evaluate how marketers can influence the different stages of tourism decision-making
process giving specific tourism examples.................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
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INTRODUCTION
Consumer behaviour can be defined as the study of individual and group of consumers with
respect to buying, consuming and disposing of products and services for satisfaction of needs
and wants (Solomon and et. al., 2017). This project report aims at understanding the different
aspects of consumer behaviour and gathering insights which can help an organisation to make
better sales and revenue. The company selected for the purpose is TUI UK which is one of the
largest tour operator headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It provides travel and tourism
services including hotels, air travel, cruises etcetera (TUI Group, 2018). The report also
evaluated the importance of mapping customer purchase journey and how marketers can
influence the different stages of tourism decision-making.
TASK 1
P1 Investigate the different cultural, social, personal and psychological factors that influence
consumer behaviour and attitude within a tourism context.
Consumer behaviour and attitude in any industry or market sector is essentially influenced
by various personal, cultural, social or psychological factors. In the context of tourism industry,
the primary factors that shape the consumer attitude and behaviour and should be evaluated by
the management of TUI UK are being discussed as follows:
Cultural Factors:
Culture represents the set of values, notions, attitudes and norms that an individual
accumulates through constant interaction with the society and peers. Primary factors under this
category that influence the behaviour of consumers include culture, sub-culture and social class.
Culture connects to the values and norms of a group of people in the wider context influencing
their behaviours and attitudes. Sub-culture refers to the distinct styles and attitude within a larger
cultural group which may form the basis of smaller segments and divisions. Social class refers to
the permanent divisions made in the society where members share similar interests and attitudes
(Ramya and Ali, 2016). Behaviour of an individual is widely influenced by the above mentioned
elements. For example, cultural values of people influence the decision to visit any particular
place for holidays and people may restrain visiting places that have conflicting cultural values. In
a similar manner, time and money devoted by an individual to travel and tourism depends largely
on social class. For example, a person belonging to the upper layer of social class often devotes a
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significant time to travel and tourism and the means of transport includes luxurious business
class air flights and premium cars influencing the attitude and behaviour. Hence, the
management of TUI UK should consider the important role cultural factors play in determination
of consumer attitudes and behaviours in tourism context.
Social Factors:
Social factors influencing consumer behaviour and attitude in tourism context include
reference groups, family, roles and statuses. Reference groups include formal and informal
groups that an individual belongs to and most of the times, a buying decision or behaviour is
most likely to be influenced with a desire to be recognised with the group (Regan, Carlson and
Rosenberger III, 2012). Family members of an individual is the strongest reference group for any
individual. Individual roles and status is also very likely to determine the consumer attitude in
tourism context which needs to be considered by the management of TUI UK. For example, an
individual belonging to the group of businessmen will prefer business class flights over economy
class due to his social group and individual role. Similarly, tourism destination also depends a
great deal on the social affiliation, likings of family members and the individual status in the
society that has to be considered by management of TUI UK.
Personal Factors:
Personal factors such as lifestyle, age, occupation, income and financial circumstances
etcetera have a very significant influence on the consumer behaviour and attitude in tourism
context. For example, a person with achievement lifestyle may decide to visit a tourism
destination that offers more than just scenic beauty. Similarly income of a person determines the
complete tour and travel package and behaviour of the consumer. A person with high income
may visit an expensive city or country but a person with medium-level income might choose
domestic travel as a better option (Cohen, Prayag and Moital, 2014). Hence, personal factors are
the most important factors influencing the consumer behaviour and attitude in tourism context
and customer persona using these personal factors should be prepared by the management of TUI
UK to increase effectiveness of targeted marketing.
Psychological Factors:
Psychological factors determine the perception of a particular product and service for an
individual which influences consumer behaviour and attitude. It includes motivation, beliefs,
learning etcetera. Intrinsic motivation affects the consumer behaviour and attitude in tourism
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sector to a remarkable extent. For example, an individual might get motivated to explore history
and monuments and may choose the travel destination accordingly. Similarly, motivation to
engage in any adventurous activity which provides thrilling experience also influenced consumer
attitude (Horner and Swarbrooke, 2016). Beliefs are based on the learning of a customer which
arrive from hearing other people’s experience and forming an opinion. For example, a person
may have negative attitude or belief for any particular service under travel sector such as
economy class air travel due to other people’s experience and his own learning which further
affects his behaviour and attitude. Hence, these factors are also to be considered by the
management of TUI UK in context of consumer behaviour and attitude.
P2 Explore how consumer trends are changing due to the impact of digital technology.
Technological innovations and developments have witnessed one of the biggest waves in the
past decade changing the dynamics and trends under every industry. Reconciliation with these
changes is imperative for any business organisation to maximise revenue and its potential. The
management of TUI UK needs to consider the below mentioned impact of digital technology on
the changing consumer trends in the industry:
Mobile Technology: Increasing access to a large pool of information using smartphones has
made consumer more aware about the options and alternatives which are available to them.
Mobile technology has played a very important role in influencing consumer trends in the
tourism industry (Kim and Kim, 2017). For example, tour and travel packages now-a-days are
pre-booked by the consumer after an in-depth evaluation using smartphones and internet which
is a growing consumer trend that has to be implemented by the management of TUI UK by
developing a comfortable and seamless user-interface on mobile booking websites and
applications.
Increasing customer expectations: Due to the impact of digital technology, the expectations
of consumer have raised significantly and there is a need to provide the best experience to users
as any gap in customer expectations and experience can lead to bad reviews using digital
technology. Digital technology has provided the ability for consumers to share their experience
and affect the larger brand image of service-providers which gives them power and dominance.
Big Data and Personalisation: Personalised services initially took-off by using customer
databases to add unique but small elements during the travel and tourism experience of an
Invidia to increase joy and satisfaction. However, increasing use of big data analytics has also
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impacted the consumer trend of personalisation in the industry with unique and distinct demands
of visitors being catered to (Buhalis and Amaranggana, 2015). Data analytics should be focused
upon by the management of TUI UK.
Catering to Millennials: Millennial travelling is one of the most growing consumer trend in
travel and tourism sector which has had a major impact of digital technology facilitating multiple
dimensions or aspects of the travelling. With the help of digital technology and social media,
solo-travellers can connect with people with similar interests and make connections while on the
tour (Ketter, 2020). It also increase the easy and accessibility of various services during the
experience. Also, the constant need to share individual experiences on social media websites
such as Instagram and Facebook have increased the trend of millennial travelling.
TASK 2
P3 Examine the stages of the consumer decision-making journey and map a path to the
purchasing for a given tourism service.
Consumer decision-making can be termed as the process which involves different steps
and stages by which an individual selects the best product or service out of the available
alternatives (Yoon and et. al., 2012). Every purchase decision of a consumer can be broken down
into its different steps and stages. Considering the service of air travel in the sector, different
stages and path of consumer decision-making can be examined and mapped as follows:
Need recognition: This stage marks the initial point in the journey of consumer decision-
making where a need or problem has been identified by an individual and he makes effort for
satisfaction of that need. External stimuli or internal motivation both factors function together for
identification of a need (Gensler, Verhoef and Böhm, 2012). For example, an individual might
have to travel abroad for a business meeting or for holiday where he identified the need to adopt
the service of air travel.
Information search: At this stage, the individual makes effort to obtain relevant
information by conducting research among his friends, family or peers and using internet to
obtain information which he believes will increase the effectiveness of his decision-making
process. For example, after identification of the need to avail air travel services, an individual
collects information about different service providers such as TUI UK, British Airways etcetera
and obtains details about the price, time, date, journey duration etcetera.
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Evaluation of alternatives: At this stage in the process of consumer decision-making, an
individual examines and undertakes a critical evaluation of all the information which he has
collected. Motivation and passion of an individual determines the extent of evaluation
undertaken by him (Wolny and Charoensuksai, 2014). For example, an individual looking for air
travel service will compare the different additional services provided by different companies
such as in-flight food, the prices, the duration of the journey, reviews from friends and families
etcetera. After assigning weight to each individual factor, a complete comparison of different
factors is executed by the individual.
Purchase decision: At this stage, the individual makes the purchase decision after he has
formed a belief in the ability of the service to satisfy his needs and expectations. It includes
aspects such as the company from which service is going to be availed, the timing, the date
etcetera. For example, an individual after complete research and evaluation of alternatives, might
decide to avail the air travel services provided by TUI UK and determine the other important
aspects of service such as time or date.
Post-purchase behaviour: Once the consumer has availed the service, he determines his
level of satisfaction by matching his expectations formed on the basis of research and company’s
claims and the real experience of the individual. Positive and negative feedbacks are determined
at this stage. For example, a consumer who gets highly satisfied after travelling using the
services provided by TUI UK might demonstrate brand loyalty and make further
recommendations to his friends and family. It results into long-term relationship management
and repetitive sales for a service-providing company.
P4 Explore why it is important for marketers to map a path to purchase and understand consumer
decision-making in the tourism sector.
Significance of mapping the path to purchase and consumer decision-making by the
marketers of TUI UK can be determined by comprehending the following points:
Product designing: Examining the process of consumer decision-making helps to
understand the needs and problems of customer which motivates an individual to make a
purchase decision. It will help the marketers of TUI UK to provide information which can help
in improving the design and specifications of the product and increase the ability of product to
match the expectations and demands of consumer (Vasantha, Roy and Corney, 2016).
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Pricing strategy: Mapping the path to purchase involves examination of evaluation which is
done by an individual and the influence of price in that process. It helps to determine the price at
which revenue of the services can be maximised and the consumer behaviour at different price-
levels can be predicted by the marketers of TUI UK.
Marketing strategy: By studying the process of consumer behaviour, the marketer of TUI
UK obtains information about factors which help in influencing the purchase decision and
motivate the consumer to try particular service (Mihart, 2012). For example, it can be determined
that the process of information collection by a consumer involves active usage of social media
and hence, the marketers of TUI UK can increase positive aspects of information which is being
displayed on social media platforms to influence the decision of consumer. It helps in effective
marketing strategy and promotions.
Better salesmanship: Due to the intangible nature of services, importance of salesmanship
whether direct or indirect increases remarkably. Hence, the knowledge of consumer behaviour
can help in improving overall aspect of salesmanship to increase the conversion ratio for leads
and increase sales of the company (Rosenbaum, Otalora and Ramírez, 2017).
Benchmarking against promises: A customer journey map provides information about the
extent to which company’s promises which forms the basis of consumer expectations are being
met. By analysing the feedbacks and post-purchase behaviour of a consumer, marketers of TUI
UK can ensure that promises of the company are benchmarks of quality of service being offered
to the customers.
TASK 3
P5 Compare and contrast the key differences of the hospitality decision-making process in the
context of B2C and B2B using specific tourism examples.
B2C business model refers to the process of selling products and services directly to
consumers or end-users whereas B2B business model refers to the transaction between two
business organisations such as manufacturers and wholesalers (Kumar and Raheja, 2012).
Differences between the purchase decision-making under B2B and B2C business models within
hospitality industry can be compared as follows:
Time and People: Under B2C business models, the number of people involved in the
decision-making process is particularly low and hence, a very less time is required to make the
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purchase decision. For example, a consumer looking for accommodation services with TUI UK
will require very less time to make the purchase decision. On the contrary, B2B business models
require a lot of time to make any purchase decision with many people involved. For example, a
company looking for the destination management services of TUI UK will take comparatively
more time and the opinions and suggestions of different members of the organisation will be
essential in the purchase decision.
Buyer Emotions: In the context of an individual consumer or B2C models, emotions and
feelings which are associated with any brand has a major role to play in the process of decision-
making. For example, a consumer might avail air travel services provided by TUI UK since the
company is somehow associated with the joyful childhood memories of the individual. On the
contrast, decision-making under B2B models have no significance or influence of personal
feeling and emotions and the purchase decision is entirely based on tangible benefits of availing
service of any particular brand or company (Pandey and Mookerjee, 2018).
Duration of relationships: Under B2C models, consumer don’t focus much on
maintaining a long-term relationships with the brand or company and hence, the purchase
decision in largely influenced by short-term and immediate benefits of using a service. For
example, instant discount on booking air travel service with TUI UK might be enough
motivation for a consumer to avail the services of company. On the contrary, purchase decisions
under B2B business models are focused towards long-term relationship management and short-
term benefits have very low or neglible influence (Hinterhuber, 2015). For example, a company
making the purchase decision of travel partnership with TUI UK for its employees is expected to
overlook the short-term discounts and offers and lay more emphasis on the quality of service and
accessibility in the long-term.
P6 Evaluate the different approaches to market research and methods of research used for
understanding the decision-making process.
The management of TUI UK conducts research using different approaches to determine the
decision-making process and increase the effectiveness of business decisions for revenue
maximisation. Some of the approaches being used by the management of the company are being
discussed below:
Personal Interviews: It is method of qualitative research where an individual consumer or a
business client of the company is asked a certain set of questions with an aim to determine the
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process of consumer decision-making. It can be evaluated that personal interview as an approach
to market research requires a significant amount of time and effort and it could be difficult to
obtain the results of a large sample using personal interview method. However, this approach of
market research being used by management of TUI UK works best when a problem or an issue is
to be evaluated in-depth and a detailed understanding of the consumer behaviour is desired by
the management.
Surveys: With the help of digital technology, extent and dimensions of surveys for market
research have extended to online surveys using mail, telephone, internet, online forums etcetera.
Online surveys are conducted by management of TUI UK to obtain information from a large
pool of consumers which is a very cost and time effective method or approach of market research
(Sue and Ritter, 2012). However, quality of data under surveys can’t be ensured and information
obtained by surveys can’t be trusted blindly due to lack of attention of the individual who is
being surveyed.
Observations: It is the most effective method of conducing research being used by
management of TUI UK to determine the actual behaviour of consumers in comparison to the
reported behaviour. It provides the management with actual information about the real-life
implications of consumer behaviour and attitudes (Mann, 2003). Techniques such as eye-
tracking and mystery consumers can be used for observational research. However, conducting a
very large-scale observation requires a lot of time and effort which is a drawback of this market-
research approach.
TASK 4
P7 Evaluate how marketers can influence the different stages of tourism decision-making process
giving specific tourism examples.
The marketers of TUI UK have a responsibility to make efforts for influencing the stages of
decision-making process for consumers. Evaluation of the activities by which marketers
influence tourism decision-making process is as follows:
Stage 1 (Need Recognition): External stimulation of need into individuals is aimed by
marketers of TUI UK using different measures. At this stage, the marketer influences the process
of decision-making by advertising and promotional campaigns which helps in development of a
need in the consumer. For example, promoting the beach-side resorts held by TUI UK results
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into fostering the need in consumers to avail this service while they are on vacations. In this
manner, marketers influence the need recognition by extensive promotions and advertising
campaigns.
Stage 2 (Information Research): At this stage, marketers provide the information about
various services being offered by TUI UK on multiple platforms such as social media
networking websites, company website, advertising on television, information brochures etcetera
to increase the accessibility of information for the consumer (Hudson and Thal, 2013). Quick
availability of information and the service description enabled by marketers influence this stage
of consumer decision-making process in tourism sector.
Stage 3 (Evaluation of alternatives): Evaluation of alternatives by consumer is influenced
by the marketers of TUI UK by conducting comparison with the products and services offered by
competitors and also demonstrating how the service provided by them provides more benefits to
the consumers. Comparative marketing campaign helps in influencing this stage of tourism
decision-making. For example, TUI UK compares its prices of accommodation with the average
market price and this information is transmitted to the consumers for better evaluation.
Stage 4 (Purchase decision): Purchase decision has a major influence of measures and tools
used by marketers. For example, TUI UK offers additional discounts and benefits on instant
booking to motivate the potential customer for availing the services of the company (Jiang and
et. al., 2018). Moreover, telephone assistance is also provided to the buyers by TUI UK for
inducing a purchase decision in the favour of the company.
Stage 5 (Post-purchase behaviour): Marketers of TUI UK have the responsibility to
influence post-purchase behaviour of customers for which various customer feedback surveys
are conducted and the complaints of customers are provided a quick and satisfying response in
order to maintain long-term relationship with the customers and increase brand loyalty. For
example, every customer of the accommodation services by TUI UK has the provision of filling
out a guest feedback form after checking-out to influence post-purchase behaviour.
CONCLUSION
It can be summarised that various factors influence the consumer behaviour and attitude
such as lifestyle, financial condition, perceptions, cultural values and social groups. Digital
technology has a major influence on growing consumer trends in the industry such as demand for
better service and personalisation. It can be observed that customer-journey of decision-making
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has different stages and analysing the stages helps marketers to increase the effectiveness of sales
and marketing functions in the organisation. It has also been observed that purchase decisions
under different B2C and B2B business models have differences and variations. Various
approaches of market research can be used by an organisation after evaluating its positive as well
as negative aspects. At last, it can be concluded that the process of consumer decision-making in
tourism is being influenced by marketers using different tools and strategies.
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