International Marketing Strategies for Travel and Tourism: Malmaison

This report analyzes the international marketing plan for Malmaison Hotel, focusing on its expansion into new markets. It begins with an introduction to the travel and tourism industry and highlights the increasing importance of international marketing. The report includes a SWOT and PESTLE analysis of Malmaison, identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors influencing its operations. It then delves into the hotel's current international marketing practices, examining its marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion) and how it positions itself in the market. The report also provides recommendations for segmentation, targeting, and positioning, as well as methods to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of sales promotions. Furthermore, it discusses significant issues influencing the overall strategy, suggests a promotional strategy, and assesses the risks associated with the proposed plan, ultimately offering conclusions and references to support its findings. The report emphasizes the potential for expansion into the Australian market due to the growing demand for luxury hotels.

International Marketing for
Travel and Tourism

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................1
SWOT and PESTLE analysis of Malmaison hotel.................................................................1
International marketing practices of Malmaison....................................................................3
Recommended Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning......................................................5
Methods to evaluate cost effectiveness of sales promotion ..................................................6
Significant issues influencing the overall strategy.................................................................7
Recommended promotional strategy......................................................................................7
Risk assessment of the given strategy....................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Tourism has become one of the highest revenue generating activities for any nation as the
movement of people from one place to another has increased from past century. Individuals
travel world with different reasons and purposes and this has become easier after increase in the
marketing activities (Moutinho, 2011). Various individuals and companies who are part of travel
and tourism has been marketing their services in a way that they convince people at a large scale
to travel the world through taking the services as they are offering something unique. This report
will be dealing with certain aspects of marketing through considering the scenario of UK based
Malmaison hotel. As part of their expansion plan, they are willing to expand the overseas market
and thus, they are going to grow their market share in other European countries. For this, an
international marketing plan is prepared through knowing all the internal and external factors.
TASK
SWOT and PESTLE analysis of Malmaison hotel
In SWOT analysis, there is brief about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats possessed by any company. Strengths can be used to expand into the newer markets and
the impact of weaknesses can be reduced through it. Opportunities can help them in gaining
competitive advantage over their rivals.
Strengths: In hospitality industry, service and hospitality is considered as the most
important. Malmaison provides a luxury and boutique decor with high standard of service.
Malmaison is perfectly located on the luxurious place to stay with guests where they relax and
live a comfort lifeThere brand name has become common to travellers and it is trusted by them.
Malmaison is working in the hospitality industry from lots of years and it has been a well known
name in the same industry (Dasgupta, 2011). In the strength of Malmaison another point is
travellers, they are assets who will come back as they know that they will receive guaranteed
best service.
Weakness: As the cost of the hotel is very high thus facility are also high, the credit
crisis are more and its hard to maintain the continuity and maintain the current position of the
hotel. In the same way all other expenses are also going high, for example training cost of staff is
very expensive due to program length, same with the furniture quality is very high which
directly increase the cost of furniture.
1

Opportunities: To have the market hold Malmaison has to start the marketing campaign
and some promotional way to attract the customers and visitors by this they may not loose the
potential market. One way to grab the market is to target the visitors of world as they are visiting
Australia as the current exchange rate is low.
Threats: Hospitality industry is suffering from losses due to lack of skilled personnel,
Malmaison is also having this threat. Due to credit crunch the budget hotel demand is going up
nowadays in this situation Malmaison are struggling to make equality with the budgeted hotel
as compared to others (Hall, Timothy and Duval, 2012).
PESTLE ANALYSIS
Malmaison hotel thought to expand their venture in other countries. . The PEST can
means political, economic, social and technology.
Political:- When the hotel want to expand in other countries then they may face hurdle
in expanding due to political issue condition of Australia. Different country has different
political norms, so in order to expand their business in Australia they have to follow the norms.
If hotel worked against the policies than hotel has to suffer lose. To have the hotel in other
countries than hotel needs to get registered according to the legislation of Australia. . Political
issues is the first issue comes in the mind of the hotel industry as they are required to work
according to their policies. The policies of different countries are very hard to understand.
Economic:- After the political factor, the hotel may face the economical issue. In this the
hotel need to have their currency where they are expanding their hotel. When it comes to to pay
the taxes than hotel feels difficulty because each country has its different tax legal formalities.
They require to provide helping hands in the development of the country (Goeldner and Ritchie,
2012). Having economical issues makes the hotels to wind-up in different Australia . If
Malmaison hotel wants to expand in Australia than they should know the economic criteria of
that particular country.
Social:- Hotels are one who tries fullest to satisfy society. Different people are there in
many countries, so the hotel staff tries to understand the needs and requirement of customers.
Hotels tries that the people coming in hotel to stay does not get harmed or disappointed with any
of the facilities. Hotel staff always take feedback with every guest whether they enjoyed or not
or any needs which has to be taken care off. This is the most important issue in expansion of
hotel industry. Thus, it is related to the society, if hotel industry is providing services correctly
2

with less amount and better services than the hotel is working towards path of boom. It is
required by the Malmaison hotel to match the lifestyle of people living in other countries.
Technology:- Having a great technology to expand the hotel industry than it is worth,
without the good technology hotel industry has to suffer. Different countries has its various
technological standards of working. Using outdated technology to promote in the country where
expansion is required than it might creates the problems for hotel (Sigala, Christou and Gretzel,
2012). Having knowledge of expansion with the help of technology becomes easy to advertise
and understand people. Technology plays a significant role in the expansion of any business.
Every country has its different technological criteria in advertising and promoting the hotel. Each
country has different ways of accepting the money from consumers and in many countries the
billing system is different. In Australia they uses online booking for the hotel.
International marketing practices of Malmaison
International marketing practices refer to the activities that are performed by companies
on different geographical locations of the world. There is variations in needs and preferences of
individuals according to the nations in which they are residing. So, it is the duty of management
to change marketing and promotional activities accordingly (Crooks and et. al., 2011).
Companies that are implementing international marketing practices will have different marketing
mix related to various markets. As they are reputed boutique hotel group, Malmaison has
collaborated with “The Big Partnership” which is one of the UK's renowned communication
agencies. They are given with the responsibility to handle marketing and PR activities of
Malmaison.
Currently, they are emphasising on Ireland and Scotland and joint venture with “The Big
Partnership” that has made the hotel group to frame its strategic branding through luxury
positioning. The current international marketing practices of Malmaison can be analysed using
marketing mix strategy.
It can be considered as an important tool used by the enterprises to promote their
products and services in market where they are operating their business. Basically, marketing
mix consists of product, price, place and promotion.
Product: - It is very much understood that the main component of marketing mix is their
products or services which are offered to consumers. Star rated suites and rooms are the main
products of Malmaison hotel which are offered by them to the consumers which are from foreign
3

countries (Pike and et al., 2010). Other than room with luxury setting, the services and products
of hotel includes executive lounge, boutique style restaurant/ bar area, banqueting and
conference rooms, health gym facilities, spa, express check-in and check-out facilities as well as
parking areas. To attain consumer satisfaction, the luxury hotel has ensured that they will be
delivering 24/7 consumer services and complimentary magazines, newspapers, etc.
Price: - Malmaison hotel is following luxury pricing strategy in domestic as well as in
international markets. Services, food, beverages, etc. offered by Malmaison are of international
quality and have great taste and include extra complimentary features and values. For this, all
they follow is a premium pricing policy (Molina, Gómez, and Martín-Consuegra, 2010). It has
been analysed that many tourists come to Ireland and Scotland and prefer to stay in luxury hotels
like Malmaison which attract lots of consumers towards that side. It is the unique and innovative
dishes which are served by Malmaison which has brought customers satisfaction and won the
hearts of international consumers. So, it can be said that premium pricing of goods have never
been an issue in the global growth and success of company.
Place: - It highlights that how much accessible product of hotel is to the customer. Most
of the hotels of Malmaison will be founded in the centre of cities. Currently, they have 13 hotels
which are situated in London, Edinburgh, Oxford, etc. So, those travellers which are coming
from foreign countries will find it easier to locate the hotel and take services of Malmaison. They
want that their customers should get the best experience and so, for the same, they have located
the hotels near places where natural things can be seen easily if any guest visits their hotel
(Tsiotsou and Ratten, 2010). Due to support of distribution strategyMalmaison can gain help in
providing better place. Internet and websites are the sources which can be considered as
important platforms for Malmaison and the reason behind this is the diverse range of
convenience given by the internet that Malmaison has choose (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010). It is the
primary distribution strategy and the hotel try to resolve the issues faced by the customers thus
giving them practical help like any enquiry, advance online booking and pick up and etc.
Promotion: - Promotion is an activity which has potential to attract many consumers
towards the products and services of company. The Big Partnership has found that most of the
promotions of Malmaison are focusing on launch parties and programs. To increase awareness
about their hotel and the services offered by them, they give information on social media which
helps them in attracting a lot of people in less period of time. This is the best way to
4

acknowledge international tourists about their offering because this is the cheapest platform for
communication and appeals to a lot of people (Hudson and Thal, 2013). They have made an
agreement with the online review sites like Tripadvisor which is helping the hotel to reach at
diverse populations. With increase in the popularity of social media, they are making sure that
they engage people on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. through posting certain posts which
consist of text, pictures, videos, etc. This has given them a great recognition in the international
market which has also increased their brand values and thus, giving them international
customers.
With proper marketing mix, Malmaison wants to focus on expanding their market in the
international market. The growth and expansion in international market has become necessary
because all their hotels are present in UK only which is restricting their growth. They have the
potential to set new trends in the hospitality sector as they have gained international popularity.
The other option available to them is Australian market which has great growth opportunities.
The report of Australian Federal Tourism Ministry states that there are less number of luxury and
boutique hotels when it is compared to the demand of the travel and tourism segment. There is
also significant increase in the number of tourists visiting Australian and they all demand for
better living which can be provided by luxury hotels only (Chen, Lin and Kuo, 2013). Data states
that with increase in tourists percentage by 7% of foreign countries has concerned about the
availability of good hotel with luxurious amenities. When it comes to GDP of Australia, travel
and tourism sector has contributed up to 3% in the year 2015 as data given by Tourism Research
Australia. So, it can be analysed that expanding business in the Australian market can be a
profitable decision.
Recommended Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
STP which is expanded as segmentation, targeting and positioning is an analysis which
helps a company to gain knowledge about the most profitable and crucial market and after that,
they should bring certain products and services through keeping consumer requirements in mind.
Below mentioned is the STP analysis for Malmaison in Australian market:-
Segmentation: - This stage includes categorising individuals in known market related to
common preferences and characteristics. In travel and tourism accommodation sector,
segmentation consists categorising people who look for low cost, budgeted, above average and
luxury style of stay and dining facilities (Kim, Chung and Lee, 2011). The segmentation of
5

Malmaison hotel in Australian will consists rooms which are luxurious based on the modern
amenities and highly luxurious suites for the guests. They are unique in boutique style. They will
try to make rooms for all kind of tourists coming fro different purposes.
Targeting: - In this the individuals who takes the services of Malmaison, size of the hotel
and their potential requirements can be evaluated. Malmaison group in Australia will be targeting
certain age groups and other kinds of people who are travelling Australia for various reasons
(Garín-Muñoz and Pérez-Amaral, 2011). They look for the families, people travel for leisure,
any couple coming for honeymoon, business persons coming for corporate affairs for the
company and those who are looking for extensive reside will be highlighted.
Positioning: - It can be considered as a last stage in the STP analysis and includes
positioning of the hotels and its products and services in most suitable place. If analysed on the
current market most of the luxury boutique hotels of Malmaison are situated in the prime
locations of UK cities so the same thing will be adopted in the Australian market (Woodside,
Hsu and Marshall, 2011). At the same time luxury living and dining will also be included in the
positioning strategy of Malmaison in Australia. The reason behind this is that with the
positioning on the main areas they will able to attract more consumers towards their hotel.
Methods to evaluate cost effectiveness of sales promotion
It is observed that there are three levels through which cost effectiveness of sales
promotions done by Malmaison can be evaluated. Pre-testing, monitoring and post testing are the
three which are part of this. Malmaison has gained and earned various sales promotional
strategies in Australian market. How much these promotional techniques will be effective can
only be analysed through pre-testing process (Ayeh, Au and Law, 2013). Pre-testing in Australia
will be done through using the target groups, consumer survey or through conducting research in
market. They will take the feedback from the visitors who are coming to Australia for travelling
purpose.
Monitoring method can also be referred as concurrent testing and in this process, there
will be comparison and contrasting of the data which is related to hotel and geographical trends
and preferences in Australia. With the comparison of previous data and organisational goals they
can easily monitor their growth. This can be an effective method in which Malmaison can
analyse competitor’s strategies and the issues that can come while promotion of sales. After
6

knowing what their competitors are offering, they can bring out new services and products which
make them unique and creative (Huang and et. al., 2013).
Final stage is post testing scenario where real performance which is considered as the
outcome of sales promotions will be compared with budgeted levels and in the same where they
have failed to achieve things will be again re-analysed by the concerned management of hotel
group (Gertner, 2011). This will be a handy process as through this, they will get to know about
the areas which are needed to be focused on and issues that can arise in the upcoming sales
promotion. Doing this, they will able to attain better results from the previous one (Lin, Pearson
and Cai, 2011). In the process of cost effectiveness of sales promotion, Malmaison is required to
evaluate the sales increment which they have achieved with the help of these promotions instead
of evaluating total sales data.
Significant issues influencing the overall strategy
After analysing the international travel and tourism, it highlighted the improved results
but still, there are various issues which can affect the overall growth of this segment. One of
them is the economic variations in almost all countries (Bornhorst, Ritchie and Sheehan, 2010).
As stated by the data of Australian government, most of the tourists visiting Australia are from
the countries like USA, China and India and when they visit the nation, they have to convert the
currency of their country into Australian Dollars (Kolar and Zabkar, 2010). After the exchange
of the currency they get less dollars, will impact the travel and tourism segment in Australia and
such thing will affect Malmaison's international marketing plans and objectives. When there will
be increase in the inflation rate, travellers will look for low budget hotels as Malmaison charges
luxury rates. If this happens it will impact marketing and growth strategies of Malmaison.
Recommended promotional strategy
Following is the marketing mix which can be suggested for Australian market:
Product: - To attract more travellers, Malmaisom needs to bring both budgeted and semi
luxurious rooms in the hotel in Australia. To get high customer satisfaction and international
growth, they can introduce vacation clubs.
Pricing: - The current prices offered by Malmaison in UK is high and due to the
variations in economy, they need to ensure that their pricing strategy in Australia should be
budgeted so that they can attract more foreign tourists.
7

Place: - City location, exotic places, beach view houses, etc. can easily be provided in
Australia by the hotel. They can look for cities like Sydney and Melborune which attract a lots of
tourists.
Promotion: - It will be done through social media, print media and various events. They
can sponsor certain musical events and functions in Australia.
Risk assessment of the given strategy
This involves activities like identifying, evaluating and administering risks coming while
implementation of international strategy for Australia.
Risk Chances of Occurrence Impact on given strategy
Increase in the number of
competitors in Australian
market offering services at low
rate.
75.00% High
Variations in currency and
inflation rates.
60.00% High
Decrease in the number of
tourists due to political and
social issues.
20.00% Low
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been analysed that travel and tourism has high scope and so,
organisations like Malmaisom which are part of this sector are looking for the expansion of their
business in overseas market. Therefore, for the expansion, it is necessary that they frame an
international marketing plan as they have decided to expand their business in Australia. Overall,
it can be said that to gain success, they have to analyse all the risks which are coming in their
way.
8

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ayeh, J. K., Au, N. and Law, R., 2013. Predicting the intention to use consumer-generated media
for travel planning. Tourism Management. 35. pp.132-143.
Bornhorst, T., Ritchie, J.B. and Sheehan, L., 2010. Determinants of tourism success for DMOs &
destinations: An empirical examination of stakeholders' perspectives. Tourism
management. 31(5). pp.572-589.
Chen, L. C., Lin, S. P. and Kuo, C. M., 2013. Rural tourism: Marketing strategies for the bed and
breakfast industry in Taiwan. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 32.
pp.278-286.
Crooks, V. A. and et. al., 2011. Promoting medical tourism to India: Messages, images, and the
marketing of international patient travel. Social Science & Medicine. 72(5). pp.726-732.
Dasgupta, D., 2011. Tourism marketing. Pearson.
Garín-Muñoz, T. and Pérez-Amaral, T., 2011. Internet usage for travel and tourism: the case of
Spain. Tourism Economics. 17(5). pp.1071-1085.
Gertner, D., 2011. Unfolding and configuring two decades of research and publications on place
marketing and place branding. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. 7(2). pp.91-106.
Goeldner, C. R. and Ritchie, J. B., 2012. Tourism: principles, practices, philosophies (No. Ed.
12). John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Hall, C. M., Timothy, D. J. and Duval, D. T., 2012. Safety and security in tourism: relationships,
management, and marketing. Routledge.
Huang, Y. C. and et. al., 2013. Exploring user acceptance of 3D virtual worlds in travel and
tourism marketing. Tourism Management. 36. pp.490-501.
Hudson, S. and Thal, K., 2013. The impact of social media on the consumer decision process:
Implications for tourism marketing. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing. 30(1-2).
pp.156-160.
Kim, M.J., Chung, N. and Lee, C.K., 2011. The effect of perceived trust on electronic commerce:
Shopping online for tourism products and services in South Korea. Tourism
Management. 32(2). pp.256-265.
Kolar, T. and Zabkar, V., 2010. A consumer-based model of authenticity: An oxymoron or the
foundation of cultural heritage marketing?. Tourism management. 31(5). pp.652-664.
Lin, Y. C., Pearson, T. E. and Cai, L. A., 2011. Food as a form of destination identity: A tourism
destination brand perspective. Tourism and Hospitality Research. 11(1). pp.30-48.
1