Marketing Analysis and Strategies for Travel and Tourism Organizations

This report delves into the core aspects of marketing within the travel and tourism sector, using Cosmos Tours Ltd as a case study. It begins by outlining the key roles and responsibilities of marketing, emphasizing market research, strategy formulation, and promotion. The report then analyzes these roles within the context of the marketing environment and explores the interrelationships between marketing and other organizational units such as HR and Finance. A comparative analysis of the marketing mix elements (product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence) is conducted between Cosmos Tours Ltd and its competitor, Leger Holidays, to highlight different marketing tactics. Finally, the report culminates in the development of a strategic marketing plan, providing a comprehensive framework for achieving marketing objectives. This report is designed to provide a detailed understanding of marketing practices within the travel and tourism industry.

Marketing Essentials
for Travel and Tourism

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1) Key roles and responsibility of marketing ......................................................................3
M1) Analysis of roles and responsibilities of marketing in the context of the marketing
environment ...........................................................................................................................5
P2) Roles of marketing in broader organisational context.....................................................5
M2) Significance of Interrelationship ...................................................................................6
D1) key elements of the marketing function and how they interrelate with other functional
units .......................................................................................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P3) Comparison of elements of marketing mix within two hospitality organisations (travel and
tourism) ..................................................................................................................................6
M3) Evaluation of different tactics applied by travel and tourism organisations to achieve
their business objective ........................................................................................................11
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................11
P4 & M4) Marketing plan ...................................................................................................11
D2) Strategic marketing plan ...............................................................................................14
CONCLUUSION ..........................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17
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INTRODUCTION
Marketing is basically related with the process of creating awareness and publicity about the
offerings of an organization to persuade the target customers for intending them to making
purchases. Thus, marketing is a tool used for increasing sales and profits of a company through
properly promoting and communicating information about their products or services. It is also
useful in developing and maintaining effective and long lasting relationship and bonding with
customers, clients and other stakeholders to maintain the success and performance of an
organization(Fairley, 2019). This assignment is based on marketing and promotional activists of
Cosmos Tours Ltd. It is a travel and tourism organisations of UK having it’s headquarter in
Bromley, south east London, England, UK. Cosmos Tours Ltd provides a range of tour packages
and escorted holidays across UK and many other locations of world. This report includes role of
marketing and its relation with others functional unity in a hospitality organisation. Beside this a
comparison between marketing mix of two organisations is provided for better understanding of
tactics used for achieving objectives. At last a strategic marketing plan is also included in this
assignment.
This report is bout the important role played by marketing in success of any organisation
and includes use of various marketing tolls and strategies like marketing mix, etc. A interrelation
among marketing and various functional unit is also made to have greater emphasis on role and
necessity of marketing. For this assignment the chosen organisation is Cosmos tour Ltd which is
a famous tour operator of UK providing a wide range of package holidays and other attractive
touring site for its customers. Cosmos tours ltd was founded by Sergio Mabtegazza in 1961 in
UK and the main purpose behind selection of this organisation is that it provide information
about all the dimes ion of a tour and travel organisation.
TASK 1
P1) Key roles and responsibility of marketing
Marketing is an integration of all those activities which are performed by an organization
to enhance image of its brand and to make its product popular among customers. For this
purpose many roles are performed by marketing which include marketing research, strategy
formulation, product development and promotion, customer service, etc (Stalmirska, Whalley
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and Fallon, 2019). The important role and responsibilities played by marketing in Cosmos Tours
Ltd are provided below:
Marketing research- It is one of the most crucial role of marketing as all the strategies
and plans of an organisations are based on marketing research. Timely research is conducted by
marketing to gather the information about current trend and prevailing situation in business
environment of an organisation. The marketing team of Cosmos Tours Ltd regularly conduct
market research to collect information about latest demand and trends of customers. This
ascertainment of taste and preference of customers enable Cosmos Tours Ltd to come up with
best services and touring packages to attract a large section of customers.
Formulation of strategies- The success and performance of an organizationdepends on
effectiveness of its strategies and polices. Marketing plays an important role in strategy
formation through providing all the relevant information about current market situation and
behaviour of customers thus, lead to better decision making and effective policy formulation.
Marketing also ensure that strategy formed must be parallel to overall targets and should
properly align with objectives of organisations (Malik and Sharma, 2019). In Cosmos Tours Ltd
marketing makes it aware about new opportunities and threat that are prevailing in business
environment so that proper strategies can be made to grab the opportunities and reduce the risk
of threats. Thus, marketing plays a crucial role in effective strategy formulation and success of
Cosmos Tours Ltd.
Promotion and communication- It is yet one of the most important role of marketing
which aim at creating awareness about product and services of an organisations. Promotion
function of marketing ensures communication of attractive features of product or services so that
attention of large a number of customers can be attracted for enhancing sales of product.
Marketing is playing a crucial role in communicating best features of tours and travailing
packages of Cosmos Tours Ltd through making effective use of promotional tool like advertising
through digital media and many more (Martens and Reiser, 2019). Thus, marketing is having a
important role in improving brand image and customer base of Cosmos Tours Ltd through
properly communicating.
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M1) Analysis of roles and responsibilities of marketing in the context of the marketing
environment
Marketing environment of an organisations all its internal and external factors are included
like customers, shareholders, retailers, etc that surround the business and have influence on
organisations. Marketing plays an important role in context of marketing environment as it act as
a bridge between organisations and all other related parties. Market research which is an
important part of marketing is essential for making organisations aware about latest trends of
market so that best product or service can be offered as per desires of customers. For Cosmos
tour Ltd marketing is enhancing its image in its market environment through communicating its
key features and special touring facility to attract more customers from its marketing
environment.
P2) Roles of marketing in broader organisational context
To successfully achieve the targets and objectives on time and in a efficient way proper
coordination and collaboration of functional unit of an organization with marketing is necessary
(Gupta, Bhatt and Vaishnava, 2019). The role of marketing in boarder organisational context can
be understood through gaining knowledge about the interrelationship of other functional unit
with marketing. The interrelationship of marketing with other functional unit in Cosmos is
provided below:
Marketing with HR: The main responsibility of HR department is to recruit a skilled and
most competent employee in the organisation. Marketing plays an important role in
communication information about skills and talent required in an individual for recruitment in
Cosmos thus ensures a pool of talented and creative employees for HR team so that most
competent and best suitable candidate can be selected for Cosmos which will enhance the
performance and creativity level of this organisation.
Marketing with Finance: It is the responsibility of finance department to properly allocate
the funds for all other department to meet their expenses. An adequate amount of funds are
provided by finance department of Cosmos to its marketing department so that the expenses of
promotional tool and other expanses can be met easily (Madhukar and Sharma, 2019). In return
marketing attract number of consumer for services which enhance the profit and revenue for
finance department so that it can properly conduct all its activities.
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M2) Significance of Interrelationship
The interrelationship between marketing and other functional unit is very significant for
an organization as it lead to timely achievement of objectives through properly coordinating all
the activities within a company. In Cosmos tour ltd an interrelation between marketing and
finance department ensures better control on expanses and also lead to effective marketing
strategies which yield grater profits to organisations. A connection between HR and marketing
ensure supply of talented and skilled employees within Cosmos tour ltd which enhance its
performance.
D1) key elements of the marketing function and how they interrelate with other functional units
In key elements of marketing timely market research, formulation of strategies and
communication and promotional activity are included. These key elements of marketing are
interrelated with functional unit as communication and promotional activity ensure proper
communication about vacant positions and required skills so that a pool of better employees can
be attracted. Timely market resrch enhance the quality of services offered thus, provide better
satisfaction to customers which lead to better sales revenue.
TASK 2
P3) Comparison of elements of marketing mix within two hospitality organisations (travel and
tourism)
Marketing mix provides a set or combinations of 7 factors which are considered as most
important for proper marketing and promotion of an product. These 7 factors include price,
place, product, promotion, physical evidence, people and process which lead to implementation
of most effective strategies and tactics to persuade the consumers (Stylos and Bellou, 2019). To
understand the applications of marketing mix in hospitality sector, a comparison between
elements of marketing mix of two travel and tourism organisations are provided. Cosmos Tour
ltd is a tour operator of London, UK and Leger holidays is its competitors which is also having
its headquarter in UK. Marketing mix of these organisations is provided below:
Marketing Mix Cosmos Tour ltd Leger holidays
Product Cosmos Tour ltd is providing high
quality tour and an authentic
experience to its customers to meet
Leger holidays provide great value
holidays and amazing experience to
its customers (Leger HOLIDAYS,
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their expectations (COSMOS, 2019).
It different range and types of tour are
provided like, adventure tour,
spiritual tours, holiday package, etc.
Cruises are also included in package
of Cosmos Tour ltd. Stunning
landscapes and beautiful destinations
with great comfort level is the
speciality of Cosmos Tour ltd.
Cosmos tour packages offer travellers
included sightseeing and a choice of
optional excursions which included
meals plus the freedom to indulge in
local fare on a whim. Dynamic blends
of transportation as well as clean and
comfortable pre-selected hotels are
also provided to customers to
enhance their experience.
2019). It provides a chance to its
customers to feel diverse culture
through soaking up the sights and
sounds of wonderful places,
learning the history of imperial
cities and medieval towns. Leger
holidays provide the fascinating, the
thrilling, the unusual, the amazing,
the breath-taking, and the
extraordinary experience to its
customers through providing a wide
range of escorted tours by coach,
air, rail and trough cruise also. The
different types of packages and tour
provided by Leger holiday include
Coach Holidays, River Cruises, Sea
Cruises, Battlefields, Luxuria
Signature, Live Events, Tailor-
Made Group Holidays, Short
Breaks, Singles Holidays, Christmas
Markets, etc.
Price Cosmos Tour ltd is making use of
Competition based pricing where
prices of competitors are taken as
benchmark. Cosmos is operating in a
highly competitive business
environment so that prices of tour
packages are fixed after proper
analysis of prices of competitors.
Leger holidays are making use of
value based pricing strategy where
prices are set according to the will
of customers. This type of pricing
strategy is useful in building loyalty
and customer sentiments. Leger
holidays are constantly in tune with
its customer’s profiles and buyers
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Cosmos tour ltd fixes its prices
slightly below its top competitors so
that more number of customers can
be attracted. Timely discounts are
also offered to consumers during
vacation and festival times so that it
can target a larger consumer base to
improve its productivity. Use of
competitive pricing strategy makes
Cosmos tour ltd able to stay ahead of
its competitors through keeping a
dynamic pricing which is slightly
below its competitors.
persona so that most suitable price
can be fixed for its tour and other
service package(Kumar and Nayak,
2019).
Place The head office of Cosmos Tour ltd is
situated in London, UK. It provides
tour and tourism facility to its
customers at different sites and
locations of worlds. The destinations
included in portfolio of Cosmos tour
ltd are Europe, Italy, Ireland, UK,
USA, Hawaii, America, Africa,
Morocco and many more.
The head office of Leger holidays is
also in UK but it provides tours and
tourism facility across different
fascinating locations of world. Its
most popular destinations include
various location of Austria,
Belgium, France, Germany,
Holland, Ireland, Italy, Spain, USA,
UK and many other destinations.
Promotion A large variety of advertising
techniques and marketing campaigns
are used by Cosmos to promote its
business. Effective use of digital
media and social media is made to
develop better communication and
interaction with customers. Use of
Use of an effective promotional
technique is made by Leger
holidays which include proper
combination of online and other
modes of advertising. On official
website of Léger holidays and on
other online platforms like social
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mouth to mouth publicity and catchy
tag lines are also made to attract more
customers for its product (Poli, 2019).
medias, facebook, etc. information
about key features of touring
packages and images of beautiful
destinations are provided to grab the
attention of target customers.
People People are the most important assets
and resource of any hospitality
organisations which are responsible
for providing best services and
experience to clients and customers.
Cosmos Tour ltd appoints right
employees for handling their tour and
other activities of company.
Enthusiastic and entertaining guides
are appointed by Cosmos Tour Ltd to
enhance the customer experience and
to providing a joyful journey and
vacation. Timely training and
knowledge about different language
is also provided to employees to
sharpen their skills and to make them
bale to easily interact with customers
and other people of different nations
and culture.
To provide best experience to its
customers skilled and talented
employees and tourist guide are
hired by Leger holidays and timely
training and development is also
provided to them to groom and
enhance their communication skills.
Process Cosmos tour ltd make use of a wide
range of platforms to provide easy
booking facility to its customers. A
user friendly website is provided by
Cosmos through customers can easily
books tickets for their tour. Booking
Leger holidays has developed
mobile friendly app and website
through which customers can easily
book their tickets for any tour
package and destinations. It is
ensured by Leger holidays that
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can also made through travel agents
and their storefront. Cosmos tour ltd
makes sure that tours run on schedule
and also avoid waiting times for its
customers which ensure that tour and
other activity run smooth and provide
top class experience to its customers.
cosumser should not have feel kind
of discomfort during the tour and
proper security and safety measures
are also taken (Januszewska,
Jaremen and Nawrocka, 2019).
Leger Holidays Limited and Leger
Air Holidays Limited are appointed
as representative of ITC
Compliance Limited which is
authorized and regulated by the
Financial Conduct Authority and
which is permitted to advise on and
arrange general insurance contracts
for Leder holidays which ensure
safety of its customers.
Physical evidence The world class experience and
facilities provided by Cosmos is
remembered but its customers for a
long time which create an effective
physical evidence for Cosmos tor ltd.
Wide range of destination with
beautiful sightseeing is also a key
feature of Cosmos tour ltd which
makes its presence feel in its business
market. Use of catchy tag lines and
other promotional tools are also
effective in creating physical
evidence of Cosmos tour ltd in minds
of its customers (Kitheka and Sirima,
The facility and customers
experience provided by Léger
holidays is unique and thrilling
which is enough to attract its
customers. Use of effective
promotional techniques makes its
presence feel in market.
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2019).
M3) Evaluation of different tactics applied by travel and tourism organisations to achieve their
business objective
Use of different tactics and strategies are made by travel and tourism organisations to
achieve their buiess objective like Cosmos Tour ltd makes use of competition based pricing to
remain ahead of its competitors and to attract more customers for its services to increase its
productivity and profitability. Leger holidays make use of value based pricing so that most
suitable price can be fixed as per the capacity and behaviour of customers. This tactics of Leger
holidays build better loyalty and commitment in its customers which are necessary to meet its
objective and targets. Use of different promotional and advertising strategy is also made by
travel and tourism organisations to attract more number of customers so that there objectives can
be meet easily.
TASK 3
P4 & M4) Marketing plan
Marketing plan is basically a well structured and properly defined written document that
provides information about overall plans, strategies and procedure that are taken by organisations
to meet and achieve its business objective. Market plan is basically a tool that provides a
complete framework and guidance to execute and complete a task properly and within the
timeframes (Chan, Peters and Pikkemaat, 2019). Cosmos tour ltd is a famous tour operator of
London, UK which is facing a tough competition from its rival tour and tourism organizations.
Thus, to get better strength and to attract more customers Cosmos tour ltd is coming up with a
new package with the name “Adventure is Knocking”. Following market plan are presented by
Cosmos tour ltd for success of its new touring package.
Overview
Cosmos tour ltd is a well known tour operator of UK providing a wide range of package
holidays and other attractive touring site for its customers. Cosmos tours ltd was founded by
Sergio Mabtegazza in 1961 in UK. The main aim of Cosmos Tour ltd is to provide affordable
package and touring facility to broths customers by coach and air travel across different region f
Europe and other parts of world. After some time, it also started providing Cruise and rail
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travelling facility to its customers to enhance their experience (Mgiba, 2019). As competitions is
increasing in hospitality sector and especially in travel and tourism thus, it become necessary for
Cosmos tour ltd to provide some new features and better touring packages to its customers.
Therefore, Cosmos is coming with a new adventures touring package by the name “Adventure is
Knocking”. This will provide a more thrilling, exciting and berths taking experience to its
customers (WATCH & LEARN ABOUT TOURING WITH COSMOS, 2019). For success and
better performance of this package use of effective marketing strategies and other tactics are
made by Cosmos tour ltd which are provided as follows:
Vision
The vision statement of Cosmos Tour Ltd is, “To become leading tour operator of UK
with maximum customers’ base to earn better revenue”.
Mission
The mission statement of Cosmos Tour Ltd is, “To provide most affordable and best
touring experience to its customers for enhancing their experience and satisfaction”
Objectives
It is one of the most important part of market plan that provide information about desired
outcomes and provide a base for measuring success of project. Following objectives or
benchmark are set by Cosmos tour ltd for its new package Adventure is Knocking.
 To increase its customer base and market share by 15% in next 6 months. To increase its profitability and revenue by 12.5% in coming one year.
Situation analysis
Before execution of ay plan or task it is necessary to properly analysis the current
situations and circumstances so that risk involved and chances of failure can be reduced
(Ivanova, 2019). Use of SWOT analysis is made by Cosmos tour ltd to identify and evaluate its
strengths and weakness and to determine the possible the opportunities and threat which are
prevailing in its business environment.
STRENGTH WEAKNESSES
 The enthusiastic, skilled and
entertaining tourist guide and other
staff is the greatest strength of Cosmos
tour ltd.
 Lack of proper infrastructure is the
weakness of Cosmos tour ltd.
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