The Role of Advertisement in the Travel Agency Business: A Research

This research project investigates the critical role of advertisement in the success of travel agencies, focusing on how effective marketing strategies impact sales and profitability. The study explores the significance of advertising in the modern business era, particularly within the travel and tourism industry, where competition is intense. The research examines the factors influencing the selection of the research topic, including the impact of advertisement on organizational success and the growing demand for online travel agents. A literature review highlights the importance of advertising in communicating with customers, influencing their perception and buying behavior, and achieving a competitive advantage. The project analyzes the link between advertisement and sales, discussing both traditional and modern advertising methods, including online platforms. Furthermore, the report identifies effective ways to advertise in the tourism industry, such as television, online ads, and social media. The impact of online advertisement on profitability is also evaluated, emphasizing its cost-effectiveness and its role in informing customers. The research will analyze Barrhead Travel as a case study to understand the practical implications of these advertising strategies. The findings of this research will provide valuable insights for travel agencies seeking to improve their marketing efforts and increase their market share.

Research Project
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Research proposal ...........................................................................................................................3
1.1 Research outline specification...............................................................................................3
1.2 Factors contribute to the process of research selection and factors motivated to the choice
of topic ........................................................................................................................................3
1.3 Initial review of literature .....................................................................................................4
1.4 Research project specification ..............................................................................................8
1.5 Plan and procedure of agreed research specification ..........................................................10
Preliminary report .........................................................................................................................12
Evaluation of the collected data ................................................................................................19
Findings and discussion.................................................................................................................22
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................23
Recommendation ......................................................................................................................26
Future areas ...............................................................................................................................27
References......................................................................................................................................28
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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
1.1 Research outline specification
In the modern era, advertisement plays an important role in the growth and success of
business. Further, it can be defined as a way of marketing and promoting products and services
to customer. It also helps in achieving the aims and objectives of organization with increasing its
sales and profitability. Industry such as travel and tourism highly rely on advertisement in order
to stay competitive and survive in long run. The competition among business in travel industry
has become very intense as many small and large travel operators or agencies are competing in
this industry. In addition to this, it is not easy to attract new customers and retain the old ones as
the customer has wide variety of choices available with them. Therefore, travel agencies seek for
strong and effective advertisement so that they can increase their brand awareness and earn
higher profits in long run. Further, along with traditional tool of advertising these businesses also
use some modern techniques such as online advertisement. It helps travel agencies to promote
their products and services in a very cost effective manner. Other than this, it also assists in
introducing new product in market as it directly stimulates people in buying the same. Thus, with
the help of effective advertisement, travel agencies can easily expand their market share by
exploring some new markets and attracting new customers.
In order to analyses the role of advertisement and selling products in travel agency
Barrhead travel will be selected. Further it is number one online travel agency of UK which
provides products and service such as city breaks, value holidays, cruise, accommodation etc. It
is a low cost travel provider and puts a strong focus on advertisement and selling of products.
Other than this, it is the result of its effective advertisement tools and strategies that it has
become the number one travel agency in UK.
1.2 Factors contribute to the process of research selection and factors motivated to the choice of
topic
There are many factors which will be helpful in process of research selection and
motivating the choice of topic. Further one of the major factor is that the impact of advertisement
on the success of organization. It has been identified that advertisement plays a very crucial role
in increasing profitability as well as market share of businesses. Therefore, it will help in
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identifying that how businesses increase their sales and profitability with the help of
advertisement. Other than this, this research will also help in determining the importance of
products and services in travel and tourism industry. This study will also assist in finding out the
relationship between sales and advertisement. In addition to this, it will highlight some key ways
using which businesses can effectively advertise their products and services in market and
achieve their long term goals and objectives. Thus, it will help in getting aware about the overall
concept of advertisement and selling products in travel agency. My personal interest in the filed
of travel and tourism industry can be also termed as one of the major factor which has helped me
to select this topic. The demand of online travel agents is growing with a very good pace and this
has encouraged me to identify what kind of role does advertisement play in sales of products
online travel agency.
1.3 Initial review of literature
Significance of advertising
As per the view of Treha and Trehan, (2007) television, radio, internet and other such
sources has become one of the biggest platform for businesses in modern era (Treha and Trehan,
2007). Further it has been observed that many brands in travel and tourism industry spends more
than one third of their revenue in advertisement and promotions. Advertisement can be also
termed as one of the best way to communicate with customers and people in market. According
to Wilmshurst and Mackay (2010) the main objective of ads is to provide various kind of
information about products to customers (Wilmshurst and Mackay, 2010). It can be also stated
that advertisement plays a very important role for both businesses and for customers.
Organization tries to achieve their aims and objectives with the help of effective ads. On the
other hand, customer becomes aware about the products and services available in market which
can satisfy their need and demand. Further it also helps them to compare products and services
with its competitors and make decision regarding purchase. In accordance with Swarbrooke and
Horner, (2007) in modern era, advertisement has major influence on customer perception and
buying behaviour (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2007). Further, effective ads always encourage them
to buy the products and services displayed in the Ad.
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Other than this, from business point of view advertisement can be termed as one of the
most effective way of achieving competitive advantage. Nowadays, people in market have wide
variety of choices available with them and now it has become difficulty for companies to retain
their customers (Kavoura, 2007). Therefore, they use different tools and techniques of
advertisement to frequently communicate with their customers. Organizations also try to develop
some new and innovative products and promote them with the help of some modern as well as
traditional tools of advertisement. In addition to this, it also helps business to become aware
about the strategies and policies of its competitors. However, argued that Bagwell, (2007)
advertisement not only increases sales but also creates potential platforms for launching new
products and services in market (Bagwell, 2007). Other than this, advertisement can be also
termed as one of the best way to create awareness and educate the society.
Link between advertisement and sales
As per the view of Vakratsas, (2008) advertisements have a direct impact on sales of
businesses as it increases the brand awareness and also assist in encouraging people to buy a
particular product or service (Vakratsas, 2008). It has been also observed that effective ads
directly increase the sales volume of companies. Further there are various ways and tools which
businesses use in order to advertise their products and services. Some organizations opt for
traditional ways such as newspaper, radio and television (Trehan and Trehan, 2007). The
traditional ways are somewhat expensive but are very effective way to promote products and
services to mass customers. On the other hand, internet has emerged as one of the biggest and
mots potential platform for carrying out promotional activities. Modern ways such as online
advertisement, ads in social media sites are becoming popular day by day. In addition to this,
these ways are not only resulted oriented but are also cost effective. In accordance with Zhang
Wedel and Pieters, (2009) the use of advertisement in travel and tourism industry is increasing
day by day (Zhang, Wedel and Pieters, 2009). Companies in order to stay competitive and
survive in long run always seeks for displaying effective ads on television, radio, newspapers as
well as on internet. It creates awareness among customers of travel industry regarding product
and services offered by any business (Vakratsas, 2008). Further, it is also helpful in stating how a
particular product differs from its competitors. On the other side, has evaluated that companies
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are required to be very careful while designing their advertisement (Wilmshurst and Mackay,
2010). They need to ensure that the message and information displayed through ads is true and
relevant. In addition to this, they should not follow any kind of wrong practices and should not
promote unfair competition. Bradley, (2007) has concluded that irrelevant ads and wrong
information directly lower down the sale of business and also affect their brand image. It
encourages customers to prefer products and services of competitors (Bradley, 2007). Therefore,
while design ads companies are required to be very careful.
Effective ways to advertise in tourism industry
Ewen, (2008) stated that there are various ways using which business in travel and
tourism industry can advertise their products and services (Ewen, 2008). One of the best ways is
to display ads on television and newspaper. It has been witnessed that large population of the
world uses radio and television as a main sources of gathering information. Therefore, customers
can be targeted by using these two forms of advertising (Manning, Raghavan and Schütze,
2008). This will help travel agencies to communicate with people and inform them about
products and services. However, Moorthy and Hawkins, (2005) argued that nowadays businesses
are more focused on using ways of advertisement which are cost effective and can provide fast
and better results (Moorthy and Hawkins, 2005). Therefore, online ads can be displayed on
search engines such as Yahoo and Google. In addition to this, Google is the most popular search
engine all across the world and is used almost everywhere. Travel agency can also display the
ads of its products and services on Google which will assist in attracting customer from all over
the world (Calder, Malthouse and Schaedel, 2009). The online advertisement can be also carried
out on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The increasing use of social media can
become an effective platform to carry out promotional activities of businesses in travel industry.
Other than this, word to mouth which is a traditional form of advertisement can be also used by
companies operating in travel industry (Dyer, 2008.). Further, in this aspect, they can hire some
professional people which can carry out the task for speaking about the product and services of
travel agency in public. This will help the company to increase its brand awareness and sales. At
local level, activities such as event sponsorship can be conducted by travel agencies. De Mooij,
(2010) detailed that large number of people gather during events and in such situation people can
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be made aware about products and services of a travel company by sponsoring the complete
event (De Mooij, 2010). Direct mails can be also forward to customer’s mail id regarding new
offers, schemes and products.
Thus, it can be stated that there are various ways which can be used by businesses in
travel industry in order to promote their products and services. Depending upon the need and
requirement as well as upon the marketing objectives, the way of advertisement can be selected.
Impact of online advertisement on profitability
As per the view of Manning, Raghavan and Schütze, (2008) internet has emerged as one
of the biggest platforms for advertisement and promotion of products and services (Manning,
Raghavan and Schütze, 20080. Further many of companies are using social media and other
search engines to promote and sell their products and services. One of the main advantage of
using online advertisement is that it is a very cost effective method and very easy to use as well.
Agarwal, Hosanagar and Smith, (2011) has explained that one of the main role of advertisement
is to inform right customer about the right product and service available at the right place
(Agarwal, Hosanagar and Smith, 2011). In addition to this, it makes the purchase process of
customer convenient and easy. In aspects of this, the use of online advertisement is increasing
day by day and businesses in every sector have started to use it as an important platform to
promote their products and services. In accordance with Goldfarb and Tucker, (2011) many of
the big brand in travel and tourisms sectors have already started to communicate with their
customer with the help of online ads (Goldfarb and Tucker, 2011).
Other than this, such ads directly impact the sales and profitability of travel agencies.
Further, travel agents can easily communicate new policy, services, offer and discount to wide
range of people with the help of online advertisement. This directly increases the sales and
profitability of travel agents as more and more people become aware about the products and
services offered by them. Ha, (2008) has stated that there are various ways such ads social
media, search engine optimization etc. in which online advertisement can be carried out (Ha,
2008). Travel agents can create their official page on social media sites such as Facebook and
Twitter. In modern era, the use of social media among people is increasing at a very fast pace.
Therefore, online advertisement can be carried on some social media sites. Other than this, travel
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agencies can also display their banner and ads on search engines such as Google and Yahoo
(Castaneda, Rodríguez and Luque, 2009).
Thus, with the use of online advertisement travel agencies can communicate with the
people in market and can make them aware about the products and services offered by them.
This will help in increasing sales of businesses which will directly contribute in increasing the
profitability. On the other hand, the advertisement will be done in a very cost effective manner
which will lower down the overall cost of travel agencies and will increase their profit margins.
The advertisement not only helps businesses but it also assists customers in getting various kind
of information. Further, it helps them in getting aware about the various kind of products and
services available in market which can satisfy their need and demand. Other than this, effective
advertising also helps businesses to meet the competition of market forces. Therefore, it can be
stated that advertisement plays a very important role in increase the profitability of businesses.
1.4 Research project specification
Aim:
“To assess the role of advertising and selling products in online travel agency”- A study
on Barrhead Travels”
Objectives:
 To determine the role of online advertisement in travel and tourism industry
 To assess the link between advertisement and sale of services in tourism sector To recommend the ways in which online travel agencies can better advertise their
products and services
Research Questions:
 What is the role of advertisement in travel and tourism industry?
 Explain the relationship between advertisement and sale of services in tourism sector? ? What are the ways using which travel agencies can better advertise their products and
services?
Research methodology
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It is one of the most important parts of any research and as it explains how the entire
study will be conducted in order to accomplish the aim and objective of research. The research
methodologies which will be used in this study are provided below as:
Research approach-
Research approach can be defined as the path using which the entire research on the topic
will be carried out. It is required by every research to use suitable and accurate approach in order
to get the desired outcomes form the study. In addition to this, it can be also stated that research
approach highlights methodologies which helps researcher to carry out the study in most
effective manner. Using right approach for a study not only eliminates the chances of omission
but also helps in lowering down the various kinds of risk involved in the carrying out research.
Inductive and deductive is two of the most common approach which is used in research.
Deductive approach has been used in this research as the results move from generalized to
specific one.
Sampling-
Sampling is the method in which suitable sample is selected in order to find out the
accurate information so that the aim and objective of research can be achieved easily. Further
every research is required to select right and the most suitable sample for the study is to desired
information can be collected easily. Probabilistic and non-probabilistic are the two most common
type of sampling which are used to gather data and information from various primary sources.
Further depending upon the nature and aim of study appropriate method of sampling and sample
size is selected.
The present research will be based on purposive sampling in which the data has been
collected form 20 marketing employees of Barrhead Travels. One of the main reason behind
selecting this method and size is that it will help in getting the most accurate and desired
information regarding the study.
Research philosophy-
Research philosophy is termed as the belief of researcher regarding how the data will be
collected, analyzed and used for the study. Further, one of the main reasons behind selecting a
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right research philosophy is that it helps in determining the most suitable technique which can be
used to evaluate the data in order to get the desired results. Further, interpretivism and positivism
are the two types of research philosophies which are most commonly used. In this study,
interpretivism philosophy will be used as it will help in interpreting the various elements of
research.
Data analysis
Data analysis can be defined as the systemic technique of applying tools and methods to
describe and elaborate as well as to evaluate the data collected. Further, qualitative and
quantitative methods are used to analyze the data. In this research quantitative data analysis will
be used as the data which has been collected is in numeric form such as charts and tables.
Design and distribution of questionnaire
Questionnaire has been designed by keeping the aim and objective of the research in
mind. Further, the researcher has also taken care of the fact that the aim does not get deviate
from the study. The questionnaire has been distributed personally to 20 employees of Barrhead
Travels in their organization itself.
Ethical consideration
The entire study will be carried out in ethical manner as the researcher will take care of
all the ethical aspects associated with this study. The information collected from various sources
will be secured in the best possible manner. The researcher will also ensure the fact that there has
been no biasness done at the time of data collection and analysis. Prior permission will be taken
from all the respondents before approaching them. The information collected wont influence
anyone and will be destroyed after use.
Data recoding and analysis
The data will be recorded in excel sheet and various themes will be developed to anlayze
the data. The information will be presented in non-numerical form and thus it can be stated that
the thematic analysis will be more suitable.
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1.5 Plan and procedure of agreed research specification
Activities 1st
Week
2nd
Week
3rd
Week
4th
Week
5th
Week
6th
Week
7th
Week
8th
Week
9th
week
10th
Week
Research
Proposal
Defining of
research
Aims and
Objectives
Critical
review
Determine
the method
of data
collection
Research
Methodology
Collecting
primary and
secondary
data
Writing
down the
findings
Data
analysis
Conclusion
and
recommenda
tions
Final
Submission
During the first week, the proposal for research will be framed by the scholar. In the
second week, aim and objectives regarding the study will be determined. Critical review of the
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key reference will be done in third week of the research. In the fourth week, the scholar will
define the methods of data collection which can be used to gather information with regard to the
topic of study. Along with this, scholar is also going to determine the entire research
methodology. The process of data collection will get completed in two weeks which are week
fifth and sixth. After collecting data, the researcher is going to write down the findings and data
analysis will be carried out in eighth week. Conclusion and recommendation will be written in
ninth week followed by final submission.
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