Research Proposal: Digital Marketing for Abu Dhabi Tourism

This research proposal explores the opportunities and challenges faced by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism in utilizing social and digital media for marketing. It investigates the department's efforts to promote Abu Dhabi as a global tourist destination, focusing on cultural and leisure experiences. The proposal outlines research questions concerning the effectiveness of digital marketing, specifically focusing on the use of websites, social media, and email marketing. A literature review covers the department's initiatives, digital marketing strategies, and relationship marketing theory. The methodology involves a positivism research philosophy and a quantitative approach using questionnaires to gather primary data on the impact of digital media in the tourism sector. The aim is to determine how best to leverage social media for marketing, including reaching a wider audience, building customer relationships, and enhancing the overall tourism experience in Abu Dhabi, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the growth of the UAE's tourism sector.

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Business Research Method Research Proposal
Student’s Name
Date of Submission

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Introduction
The department of culture and tourism in UAE is involved is several activities to regulate the
tourism operations in the region. More specifically, it develops and promotes Abu Dhabi as a
global destination for tourist. It offers natural and cultural experiences, family leisure facilities
and appealing attraction sites (Armstrong et al., 2015). The eventual goal of these strategies is to
make Abu Dhabi a world class destination for tourists and travelers. The efforts by Abu Dhabi
department of culture enhances their country’s diversified cultural experience under the guidance
of Abu Dhabi vision 2030 as well as the Abu Dhabi plan. Through the cooperation on this
cultural department with relevant stakeholders, it has been possible to market their services to
both local as well as international markets (Henderson, 2014). The importance of social and
digital media cannot be underestimated because they have both merits and demerits (Tiago &
Veríssimo, (2014). A great benefit of these marketing strategies is that they can be able to reach
out to so many people in a short period of time. They are also cheap compared to other forms of
marketing like print media.
Hypothesis
I. There are opportunities and challenges faced by the Abu Dhabi department of culture and
tourism in UAE.
II. There are no opportunities and challenges faced by the Abu Dhabi department of culture
and tourism in UAE.
Research questions
1. To explore the opportunities that are presented by the massive adoption of social and
digital media the Abu Dhabi department of culture and tourism in UAE.

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2. To determine the challenges that the department of culture and tourism in Abu Dhabi
faces in using the social and digital media in marketing.
3. Enable a better understanding on how best to use the social and digital media for
marketing at Abu Dhabi.
Literature review
Abu Dhabi department of culture
This department combines several activities alongside their stakeholders in an effort to create
some well nurtured cultural community rich in values and heritage (Hammad et al., 2012). This
then attracts so many tourists locally and internationally which in turn enhances economy
building through the collected revenue. Their core target is to offer a holistic tourism experiences
to their citizens and tourists so as to regulate the cultural and preservation of their heritage (Zeng
and Gerritsen, 2014). The sharing of the unique legacy of Abu Dhabi, this department offers
cultural events, museum sites and exhibitions to the clients. Basically, the Abu Dhabi culture is
important in indicating the development journal of Emirates. More specifically, this department
is committed to preserving several historical and archeological places, to serve as sources of
historical learning (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). They also support creativity by holding cultural
exhibitions where they promote artists and other intellectuals through festivals and events. Their
support to handicrafts and artists, Abu Dhabi department of culture inspires several professionals
in literature, music and artwork.
This department is also tasked with ensuring that the future of the Saadiyat Island museum is
bright through promotion of a dynamic culture in the region (Giampiccoli and Mtapuri, 2015).
Other tasks include the support and management of existing museum and tourist sites like the Al
Ain Palace, Al Ain national museum and Al Jahili Fort. The Abu Dhabi department of culture

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also makes promotions of their services by holding educational programs, exhibitions and
academic courses related to culture and heritage so as to inspire the upcoming generation. In this
case, Abu Dhabi cultural department takes note of the art talents of its people as a source of
heritage endurance, and their collective memory as an invaluable resource in the UAE region
(Mtapuri and Giampiccoli, 2017).
On the tourism sector, this department offers tourism assets through cultural conservation of
tourist attraction sites so that Abu Dhabi becomes a word class tourist destination. As such, this
department continuously invests in in cultural sites, leisure points and entertainment services for
tourists by programs and events through partnerships with sponsors, well-wishers and other
stakeholders in tourism industry (Sigala et al., 2012). Most importantly, they have a cooperative
relationship with the tourism industry of the Emirates by offering guidance so that the services
offered to the customers are way beyond and meet the global standards and customer
expectations. In order to determine their performance in tourism and culture industry, they have
an online method of revenue collection and reporting (Benckendorff et al., 2014). This enables
them to determine their performance in the markets by viewing the number of hotels booked,
average duration of stay, revenue and other indicators. They also run a digital library system
where people can get access to various resources that appertain to Abu Dhabi culture and torism,
from any part of the globe.
Digital marketing
Abu Dhabi employs a number of online and digital methods of advertising their services. This
includes the use of their website, social media, digital screens and email marketing which creates
an interface code to list their products and services to both existing and potential customers
(Stephenson, 2014). The use of digital marketing (ether social media or use of internet

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marketing) is gaining widespread use because it is in line with the needs of the customers and
can influence their purchasing powers. Most of the consumers make use of social media and
consult the mobile phone internet in making purchase through doing preliminary research before
they make the final decision. The use of internet marketing is crucial in helping to build good
relations between existing and prospective customers. When an institution uses internet
marketing, it makes them to be open for conducting business at any time without the need for
worry about time limits. When the products are offered on the internet, it creates convenience for
the clients. For instance, online presence through digital and social media offers liberty to
customers because they can access the range of services and products offered, and make
inquiries from any part of the world.
Ease of reaching out to customers
Use of internet marketing makes institutions to overcome the limitations created by long
distances. Ease of accessing a wide range of client’s mesa that the product and services can be
offered to people with ease without the need of having to open or establish similar services
provision centered in many countries. In the 21st century, digital marketing has been so strong in
the network advertising due to the availability of the double click option on the digital devices.
This has made the world to be linked to many people from several places. Digital marketing
enables the processing of campaigns, marketing and promotion of services and products.
Moreover, this method has been found to be cost effective and quite convenient. In this case, the
advertiser is able to make a clear view of the length and the number of times that that a certain
campaign and advert has been placed on the internet (Nicholls, 2012).
Moreover, digital marketing is able to indicate to the advertiser the number of people who have
viewed the advert. These and other features have made this fast marketing technology to be

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adopted in various sectors and industries to market their services and products. While the
consumers enjoy the convenience of viewing the available services, the organizations and
departments enjoy the high profits that they make.
Forms of digital marketing
The versions of digital marketing which are commonly used include the mobile phones
technologies, internet and Wi-Fi. The management of both public as well as private businesses
has taken a promising trend. Moreover, companies and institutions have allocated a lot of funds
in making digital adverts on the media.
advantages of internet marketing
internet marketing is considered to be rather affordable as compared to other forms of marketing
like use of print media. This is because just a small fraction of an advert is able to reach out to so
many existing prospective clients at a small cost. The nature of the medium employed by digital
marketing allows the customers to make detailed research based on their tastes and preference
(Hvass and Munar, 2012). This makes most advertisers to choose a medium which is so
appealing to clients in terms of attractiveness, convenience and the richness of the information
concerning their services and products.
The advertisers are also able to make an assessment on the statistics of the outcome and
effectiveness of the advert and medium used. This is gauged using the number of clicks, like and
pays per action (Munar and Jacobsen, 2014). This allows the marketers to make a choice on the
content of the messages to be displayed based on the needs of the clients.
Relationship marketing theory
The relationship marketing theory is aimed at creating customer loyalty. The social and digital
media are applied in digital marketing in creating a relationship with the clients through frequent

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interactions with the clients. For instance, the adoption of digital marketing by the Abu Dhabi
department of culture and tourism has made them to bring to the knowledge of the world, the
heritage and attraction sites in UAE. The relationship marketing theory enables customers to get
information on the basis of their individual needs and enhance client’s loyalty (Ajana, 2015).
Methodology
This research concerning the challenges and opportunities of using social and digital media, Abu
Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism. Considering the increased adoption of social and
digital media in advertisements, this aspects of culture, traditions and tourism importance social
media will be carried out in UAE. This department has been continuously adopting social and
digital methods of advertising the wide range of facilities for tourism and services for culture that
they offer. With their main aim being to make UAE a global destination for tourism and culture,
the Abu Dhabi department of culture and tourism has been lobbying for increased number of
tourists both locally as well as internationally (Avraham, 2015).
Research Philosophy
Philosophy of a research is very important because it offered a description of the beliefs which
researchers conceive in mind concerning the methods to be used to collect data and analyze it
(Onwuegbuzie & Frels, 2013). Research philosophy will involve the adoption, modification as
well as the benefits linked use of internet and social marketing tools in the department of culture
and tourism at Abu Dhabi. In current proposed study, philosophy to be used will be positivism in
order to acquire meaningful data from varied source and observations. The positivism
philosophy states research is a very good method of finding out the truth (Ormston et al., 2014).
The findings will be limited to the methodologies used, which means that the researcher will be
limited to data collection, analysis and interpretations.

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The research strategy
Normally, there are two major ways of gathering information in research. The first one is
quantitative and the second is qualitative methods. Qualitative methods entail collecting
secondary data from peer reviewed sources such as journals, articles, and books. Quantitative
research methods entail the collection of primary data through interviews and surveys from the
selected population sample. In this research, primary survey will be used to collect data
concerning the challenges and opportunities of using digital and social media for at Abu Dhabi
department of culture and tourism.
In this study, questionnaires will be used, more specifically for the evaluation of cause-effect
relationships at Abu Dhabi department of culture and tourism and use of social and digital
marketing methods (Weigold et al., 2013). Use of primary data will make it possible to
determine the effectiveness of social media at Abu Dhabi department of culture and tourism.
Questionnaires for use in this research will be semi structured in a way that it will accommodate
the drop and pick an options to save time and resources. Such a research tool is quite important
so as to lower the ambinguity which might arise din all previous times. The tool will conatin
open close ended quation in order to capture all the researceh details. have both open ended as
well as closed ended questions which will cover all aspects of the study. The fact that most
people at Abu Dhabi department of culture and tourism are able to read and write promises that
they will be cooperative (Leung et al., 2013). Being an Arabic region, the questionnaires to be
used will be in two languages; English and Arabic. Therefore, the respondents will choose to
make responses on the language that they can best understand.

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Study Population
All people above 18 years will be included in this study to capture their feelings on this subject.
This will be done in order to capture the perceptions of social media marketing at Abu Dhabi
department of culture and tourism are covered throughout all ages. More so, the staff working at
the Abu Dhabi department of culture and tourism will be targeted so that they can give their
reactions.
Sample size calculation
The Yamane equation will be used to determine the sample for use (Israel, 1992).
Equation 1: the Yamane simplified equation
Data Collection
When research data is being collected, systematic methods needs to be chosen when determining
row sample to be studied from the population. The sample to be used for the research depends on
the nature of the total population and the variables to be studied. Simple random sampling is the
technique which will be used in this study to choose the respondents who will be interviewed and

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test the hypothesis (Fosdick, 2012). Then forms of informed consent will be sent to the chosen
participants via emails and courier services. A letter will also accompany the informed consent
forms to offer explanations on the purpose of the study and promise them that their responses
will be confidential. Then the questionnaires will be sent to the respondents electronically and
via couriers and respondents will be asked to send back the completed questionnaires after five
days. At the end of the data collection, all the findings will be compiled together to make a
generalized conclusion.
Data Analysis
The findings collected from the questionnaire responses will be entered into Microsoft excel,
then exported to SPSS version 17 data analysis software for analysis. Data will be presented
using descriptive statistics such as means, mode percentages, 5-likert scale and standard
deviations. The results will also be presented using tables and charts for better understanding.
Research Limitations
The researchers in this study will try by all means to avoid any form of research limitations.
However, possible limitations might result from the methods used to collect data and ways of
stating the objectives. Other possible sources of limitations might be the controlled responses
because some people might have fear of expressing their opinions concerning the opportunities
and challenges of social and digital media in the efforts by Abu Dhabi department of culture and
tourism.
Outcomes
From the recent adoption of social and digital marketing by Abu Dhabi department of culture
and tourism, there has been an increase in the number of customers and tourist visiting UAE.
However, there could be possible that the social and digital media is affecting this department

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negatively by exposing crucial information to the public, such as the financial statements in the
process of making advertising.
Timescale
Time/
activity
Jan-
June
2018
July –
Dec
2018
Jan-
June
2019
July-
Dec
2019
Jan-
June
2020
June-
Dec
2020
Research
proposal
development
and writing
Sampling
Data
collection
Data
analysis
Report
writing and
submission

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Reference List
Ajana, B., 2015. Branding, legitimation and the power of museums: The case of the Louvre Abu
Dhabi. Museum and Society, 13(3), pp.316-335.
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education.
Avraham, E., 2015. Destination image repair during crisis: Attracting tourism during the Arab
Spring uprisings. Tourism Management, 47, pp.224-232.
Benckendorff, P.J., Sheldon, P.J. and Fesenmaier, D.R., 2014. Social media and tourism.
Tourism information technology, (Ed. 2), pp.120-147.
Fosdick, M.A.G.G.I.E., 2012. The globalization of social media: Consumer relationships with
brands evolve in the digital space. Strategic Direction, 28(6).
Giampiccoli, A. and Mtapuri, O., 2015. Diversification and Innovation in Tourism Development
Strategy: The Case of Abu Dhabi. The Arab World Geographer, 18(4), pp.245-261.
Hammad, N., Ahmad, S.Z. and Papastathopoulos, A., 2017. Residents’ perceptions of the impact
of tourism in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and
Hospitality Research, (just-accepted), pp.00-00.
Henderson, J.C., 2014. Global Gulf cities and tourism: A review of Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai.
Tourism Recreation Research, 39(1), pp.107-114.
Hvass, K.A. and Munar, A.M., 2012. The takeoff of social media in tourism. Journal of
Vacation Marketing, 18(2), pp.93-103.
Leung, D., Law, R., Van Hoof, H. and Buhalis, D., 2013. Social media in tourism and
hospitality: A literature review. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(1-2), pp.3-22.