Thomas Cook's Caribbean Tourism: A Digital Marketing Analysis

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Research Project
Impact of Digital Technology on Promoting
International Tourism of Thomas Cook
Organisation in the Greater Caribbean

Table of Contents
Table of Contents................................................................................................................. 1
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 2
Task 2....................................................................................................................................... 3
2.1........................................................................................................................................ 3
Matching Research Resources to Research Questions.........................................................3
2.2........................................................................................................................................ 4
Research Investigation......................................................................................................... 4
2.3........................................................................................................................................ 7
Recording the Collected Data...............................................................................................7
Task 3....................................................................................................................................... 9
3.1........................................................................................................................................ 9
The Research Evaluation Techniques...................................................................................9
3.3...................................................................................................................................... 15
Recommendations and Areas of Further Research............................................................15
Task – 4.................................................................................................................................. 17
Research Outcome Presentation........................................................................................17
Reference List.........................................................................................................................22
Appendix.............................................................................................................................. 23

Introduction
Technological advancements are a major disruptor of traditional business practices across
the industries. The digital technology is one key aspect of technology that has transformed
the world of business. The influence of digital technology on various industries is clearly
visible. It has changed the landscape of doing business and different businesses embraced
its applications either to improve their organisational growth or to survive the competition.
The tourism industry is a service specific industry that's focused on providing exemplary
customer services with an aim to please the customers and enhance customer satisfaction
levels (Gretzel et al., 2015). The use of digital technology changed customer handling,
communication, and the flow of information, and marketing and promotion activities of
tourism businesses. The research project focuses on the influence of digital technology on
the international tourism promotion of travel business in the context of a popular tourist
destination. The organisation in context is the Thomas Cook Group and the tourist
destination is the greater Caribbean (Gretzel et al., 2015). The research project assignment
is divided into four tasks that address various aspects of conducting a research project. The
first task is a Research Proposal that contains the details about the research topic, research
questions, background of the research and its scope, research aims and objectives, research
methodology, etc. The second task involves different aspects of research execution such as
identifying research resources, furnishing data collection tools, a collection of data, and
processing the primary data. The third task involves evaluating the research using evaluation
techniques, analysis of collected data, and suggesting recommendation and further areas of
research. The last task of the assignment involves creating a poster to present the outcome
of the research.

Task 2
2.1
Matching Research Resources to Research Questions
The research question formulated in task 1 is as follows
 What is the role of digital technology in the promotional activities of the Thomas
Cook Group?
 What is the role of Digital mediums in vacation planning?
 Why do people visit the Greater Caribbean?
 What are the factors that affect a customer's choice of the tourist destination and
the travel company?
The research resources can be categorised as primary and secondary sources. The original
or fresh data or materials on which researches are based upon are known as primary
sources. These are research specific and can be a source of high accuracy conclusions. These
include raw statistical data, surveys, interviews, official records, original fieldwork or
research, etc. The analysis of primary sources or sources based upon primary sources is
known as secondary sources. These include scholar articles, textbooks, journals, etc. The
secondary sources also include scholarly works that synthesize, review or interpret original
field works and researches. In a nutshell, the secondary sources are based on primary
sources and can be a good way of understanding the background of research work (Mutch,
2013).
The current research involves both primary and secondary research methods. So, it will
utilise both primary and secondary sources for research purposes. The secondary sources
will be scholar works and textbooks relevant to the studies and will be used to conduct the
Literature review or secondary research. The primary research will involve survey method,
which will use questionnaires to collect fresh raw data (Denscombe, 2014). The data
collected through the survey method is considered to be a primary resource. The secondary
research will provide a basic understanding of the use of digital technology and its
application on the tourism industry. It will also give a framework of the influence on the
promotional activities of tourism businesses. It can also consider the influence of digital
technology on tourism in Greater Caribbean. The primary source will consider these
questions as well as certain other aspects of the research. These include the factors
affecting the customer’s choice of tourism destination and Travel Company, the motivation
of people visiting the Caribbean, the factors affecting the vacation planning; a medium that
influences the vacation planning of individuals, etc. The secondary source will be the basis of
creating the questionnaire for primary data collection (Denscombe, 2014).

2.2
Research Investigation
The primary research will be conducted through a survey method (Denscombe, 2014). The
tools for the primary research data collection will be a questionnaire (Template included in
the appendix, Appendix 1: Questionnaire Template). This questionnaire will be distributed
to a sample of 200 people from a pool of local businesses and tourists.
Research Journal/Diary
Time
Frame
Aspects of
the
Research
Resource Summary Comment
25/03/201
9 to
6/04/2019
Discussion
on the
Research
Aim
(Denscombe
, 2014)
Peer input,
teachers
feedback, and
available
relevant online
data
The research aim that
can clearly assess the
influence of digital
technology on the
tourism industry was
sought and relevant
travel company along
with a popular
destination to explain
aspects of the
research aim were
discussed.
The research aim was
sought through
brainstorming
sessions and focus
groups.
25/03/201
9 to
20/04/201
9
Establishing
the
Research
Aim
(Zikmund et
al., 2013)
Peer input,
teachers
feedback, and
available
relevant online
data such as
Buhalis and
Amaranggana,
(2013), Gretzel
et al. (2015),
Morrison, (2013)
etc.
The research aim was
finalised after
analysing the
shortlisted reference
on the basis of
availability of
secondary data and
relevance to the
context of the
research.
The finalised research
aim can explain the
influence of digital
technology on the
different aspects of
the Thomas Cook
Group that represent
the tourism industry.
08/04/201
9 to
22/04/201
9
Devising
Objectives
and
research
Questions
(Denscombe
, 2014)
Peer input,
teachers
feedback, and
available
relevant online
data such as
Buhalis and
Amaranggana,
(2013), Gretzel
et al. (2015),
The objectives that
can be viably pursued
to provide results in
the context of the
research Aim through
primary and
secondary research.
The objectives
finalised were
relevant to the
research questions
and together indicate
the influence of
digital technology on
the promotion of
international tourism
by Thomas Cook

Morrison, (2013)
etc.
Group.
22/04/201
9 to
4/05/2019
Identifying
the
secondary
sources for
research
(Zikmund et
al., 2013)
Textbooks and
scholar journals
The sources that can
be used to conduct a
literature review
were identified by
looking for textbooks
and journals relevant
to current research
The topics on which
sources were sought
include topics like the
influence of digital
technology in
different businesses,
Technology-based
tools used in different
businesses,
application of digital
technology in the
tourism sector,
tourism promotion of
the greater
Caribbean, etc.
06/05/201
9 to
15/06/201
9
Secondary
Research
(Denscombe
, 2014)
Saunders and
Lewis (2012)
The focuses were on
creating an
understanding of the
research aim and
objectives and
formulate a basis for
the creation of the
Questionnaire.
The data used was
recent (Post-2012).
22/04/201
9 to
18/05/201
9
Preparation
of the
questionnai
re (Zikmund
et al., 2013)
Saunders and
Lewis (2012)
It involved the
identification and
creation of questions
relevant to the
objectives and
Research questions.
The questions were
devised so that they
address different
aspects of the
research objectives.
The questionnaire
needed to be simple
enough to be
understood by the
target audience while
addressing the
objectives of the
research.
20/05/201
9 to
29/06/201
9
Questionnai
re Filling –
Primary
Data
collection
(Denscombe
, 2014)
N.A It involved the
distribution of the
questionnaire to the
randomly selected
sample group of 200
individuals.
The resulting data
formed the primary
resource for the
research.
17/06/201
9 to
27/07/201
9
Data
Processing
and Data
N.A The primary and
secondary data is
processed. The

Analysis
(Zikmund et
al., 2013)
primary data is
compiled in a tabular
form and
represented in a
visual form.
15/07/201
9 to
27/07/201
9
Drawing
conclusions
(Denscombe
, 2014)
N.A The visual
representation of
data is used to draw a
conclusion through
basic analysis.
Conclusions are
documented in a
descriptive manner
along with the
research.
29/07/201
9 to
10/08/201
9
Areas For
Further
Research
and
Research
Conclusion
(Zikmund et
al., 2013)
N.A The areas of research
that the current
research was unable
to attain due to the
lack of relevant data
are identified and
listed.
These areas could be
further researched to
provide in-depth and
accurate
understanding and
result in the research
aim.

2.3
Recording the Collected Data
(Bell et al., 2018)
1) How do you plan your vacations?
Answers Responses
By discussing with friends and colleagues 50
By searching online 42
By going through the current offers by travel companies 45
By discussing on social platforms 63
2) What are your sources of information about a tourist destination?
Answers Responses
Friends, colleagues, and family 49
Travel Blogs 45
Advertisement and articles in print form like magazines, newspaper,
etc.
19
Social Media 55
Travel company and tourist destination websites 32
3) What things help you in choosing a tourist destination?
Answers Responses
Experiences of Friends and colleagues 47
Reviews on social media 50
The uniqueness of the travel experience 23
Online reviews 35
Online promotion 45
4) How do you choose a travel company?
Answers Responses
Suggestions of friends and colleagues 48
Social media presence 50
Services being offered 21
The reputation of a company 21
Online reviews 60
5) Do you think that the promotion of tourist destination through a digital medium is
necessary?

Answers Responses
Absolutely 60
Yes 80
Maybe 40
No 20
6) What is your source of information about a tourist package and Travel Company?
Answers Responses
From friends and colleagues 40
Emails 30
Newspapers and magazines 30
Mobile 40
Online advertisement 50
TV advertisements 10
7) What do you expect during your visit to the Greater Caribbean?
Answers Responses
Relaxation 25
Beaches and beach activities 52
Exotic experience 49
Friendly atmosphere 13
Safety 35
Pleasant weather 14
Local culture 6
Exotic food 6

Task 3
3.1
The Research Evaluation Techniques
Assessment of a research or research evaluation is the processes employed to audit
research to identify and establish the research performance. The research assessment
primarily uses certain quantitative indicators for the purpose of assessing the research.
Research evaluation, on the other hand, uses indicators other than those used by research
assessment to describe the research performed. It is more qualitative and provides
recommendations for future research requirement s and developments. Research
evaluation is focused on providing research feedback that’s useful for people responsible for
research (McMillan, 2012).
The research evaluation can be of a number of different types based on the requirement
and evaluation purpose. The two basic research evaluation techniques are formative and
summative. The formative evaluations are focused on improving the object of evaluation. It
examines the execution of the research along with the implementation quality. The
summative evaluation focuses on examining the research outcomes and its viability in terms
of achieving the objectives of the study. It’s an effective tool for examining the effectiveness
of the research and its quality. It also focuses on recommending future areas of research.
For the current research, the research evaluation technique being employed is the
Summative evaluation technique since it will be useful for evaluating the collected primary
data. The summative evaluation is considered to be most effective in analysing the gathered
data of primary research. This will be an effective assessment and reflection tool that will be
useful in identifying future research areas as well (McMillan, 2012).

Primary Data Analysis (Sgier, 2012)
1) How do you plan your vacations?
25%
21%
23%
32%
How do You Plan Your Vacations?
By discussing with Friends and
Family
By searching Online
By going through current offers
from the Travel Company
By discussing on Social Media
Platforms
53% of the sample group use a digital medium for planning their vacation. 22% of people
consult Travel Company offering in both online and print medium while planning their
vacation while 25% finalise their travel plans by discussing it with their family and friends
(McMillan, 2012).
2) What are your sources of information about a tourist destination?
16%
23%
28%
25%
10%
What are your sources of information about
a tourist destination?
Travel company and tourist
destination websites
Travel Blogs
Social Media
Friends, colleagues, and family
Print Form Advertisement
The popularity of digital technology as a source of information of travel destination is 65%
indicating its importance in promotional activities. The percentage of people going through

print media is an underwhelming 10% while 25% people consider their friends and family an
ideal source of information regarding a tourist destination while planning their vacation or
travel (McMillan, 2012).
3) What things help you in choosing a tourist destination?
25%
23%
18%
24%
12%
What things help you in choosing a tourist
destination?
Reviews on social media
Online promotion
Online reviews
Experiences of Friends and
colleagues
Uniqueness of the travel
experience
The traveller’s choice of destination as per the sample group is based on digital technology
mediums such as social media platforms, online promotions, and online reviews. This is
indicated by the preference of digital technology by 64% of people (McMillan, 2012).
4) How do you choose a travel company?
24%
25%
11%
11%
30%
How do you choose a travel company?
Suggestions of friends and
colleagues
Social media presence
Services being offered
Reputation of a company
Online reviews