Analyzing Marketing Strategies for London's Tourism Industry

This report provides a detailed analysis of marketing within London's travel and tourism sector. It begins by exploring core marketing concepts and applies them to London as a tourist destination. The report then examines the tourism marketing environment of London, utilizing PESTEL and SWOT analyses to assess its impact on travel businesses. Factors affecting consumer motivation and demand for London, for both business and leisure travelers, are discussed, followed by an analysis of market segmentation principles and their application to destination marketing planning. The importance of strategic marketing planning and marketing research is critically analyzed, highlighting the relevance of market information to tourism managers. Furthermore, the report delves into the impact of marketing on tourists and the host community, examines the elements of the marketing mix, and discusses the processes of designing and developing a tourism product. Finally, the role of the promotional mix is elaborated upon, providing a comprehensive understanding of marketing strategies in the context of London's tourism industry. Desklib offers a range of resources including past papers and solved assignments to aid students in their studies.

Marketing in Travel and Tourism
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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 3
Task 1.......................................................................................................................................... 4
Task 2........................................................................................................................................ 10
Task 3........................................................................................................................................ 12
Task 4........................................................................................................................................ 15
Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 17
Reference List........................................................................................................................... 18
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Introduction
The travel and tourism sector is expanding exponentially worldwide, and marketing practices
adopted by such sectors have also had to undergo changes. This report aims to study the
impact and importance of marketing in the context of London’s tourism sector. Further, the
report analyses the importance of market planning for London, as a tourist destination. The
importance of market planning, research and information is understood with reference to the
tourism managers at London Tourism. The impact of marketing in tourism on tourists as well as
the host community is analyzed. The elements of the marketing mix are studied, and the
processes of designing and developing a product for a tourism-related company have been
discussed, keeping in mind a relevant tour operator in UK. The concept of total tourism product
has also been addressed. Finally, the role of the promotional mix is elaborated upon, and a
detailed promotional campaign is created.
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Task 1
A. Discuss the core concepts of marketing and apply to your selected destination of
London (consider the selected destination as the product to be promoted) [P1.1].
Introduction
This report will evaluate regarding the various methods and strategies used by the marketing
team of different tour operators in order to enhance their business. The core concept of the
marketing will be elaborated in a detailed manner.
According to Kotler, the main concepts related to the marketing process are identified as needs,
wants, demand, product, utility, exchange or transaction/transfer, relationship marketing
network, and finally the market (Armstrong et al, 2015). With reference to London as a tourist
destination, the core concepts of marketing can be applied in the following sense-
Needs, wants and demands- The needs and wants of tourists who visit London are governed
by the desire to experience British culture and food, as well as to visit landmarks that have
historical and cultural significance.
Product- The products offered by London as a destination include famous British foods such as
fish and chips served by several pubs and restaurants in London, sightseeing locations such as
the Big Ben, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, etc.
Value, satisfaction and quality- The tourists who visit London will have expectations in terms
of product and service value and quality. The cost incurred in sightseeing activities, quality and
price of accommodation in hotels and of food, as well as the behavior exhibited by locals will
determine the perceived value of the services for the customer (Rajesh, 2013).
Exchange, transactions/transfer and relationship marketing- Transactions and relationship
marketing are particularly important for a tourist destination. If the tourism industry of London
provides quality services to tourists, they will have a positive opinion of London and this will
attract a high inflow of tourists every year.
Market- To promote London as a destination to tourists (the buyers), the tourism industry
engages in market segmentation and market analysis to understand the demands of the
tourists.
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Figure 1: Core Concepts of Marketing
(Source: Created by Learner)
B. Briefly analyse the tourism marketing environment of London and assess its impact
on the travel and tourism businesses and destination itself [P1.2]. 286
In the tourism industry, the marketing environment refers to the internal and external factors
such as market trend, shifting consumer demands, socio-political and economic scenario,
demographic change etc, that impact the marketing processes (Kotabe and Helsen, 2014). The
tourism marketing environment of London is determined by the following analyses-
Factors Analysis
Political Post-Brexit, political instability has adversely
affected the flow of tourists to UK, as free
movement is now restricted
Economic Economic recession has led to lower spending
power, and has led to a decline in the tourism
sector’s revenue.
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Needs,WantsandDemandsBritishcultureandfoodhistoricalandculturallandmarksProductFamousBritishfoodsSightseeinglocationsValue,satisfactionandqualityCostandQualityoffood,hotelExchange,transaction/transferRelationshipMarketingProvidingqualityservicesMarketMarketsegmentationMarketanalysis

Social Tourists will not visit destinations where their
life may be endangered by terror attacks
(Baker, 2014) The London police has had to
tighten security so that the safety of tourists is
uncompromised.
Technological The tourism sector has had to adopt and
implement new technologies to keep up with
consumer expectations and to provide high
quality services.
Environmental Tourists are now looking to the tourism sector
to implement sustainable practices. This has
led to a rise in sustainable processes in hotels
in London, and the promotion of responsible
tourism to fulfil the needs of customers
(Geerts, 2014).
Legal Trade as well as travel laws have changed
due to Brexit. This has affected the movement
of tourists to London.
Table 1: PESTEL analysis of London’s tourism marketing environment
(Source: Created by Learner)
Factors Analysis
Strengths A major strength of London tourism is that the
city has various historical and socially rich
landmarks that tourists are attracted to.
Weaknesses The impact of Brexit has weakened the UK
economy and political structure. This has
lowered the revenue of London’s tourism
sector.
Opportunities The tourism industry is set to receive funding
from the UK government, which will provide
ample opportunity to expand the sector.
Threats Terrorism is a major threat to tourism in UK.
Moreover, the changing trade and travel
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agreements may hamper tourists’ visits to
London.
Table 2: SWOT analysis of London’s tourism marketing environment
(Source: Created by Learner)
C. Discuss the factors affecting consumer motivation and demand for London as a
tourist destination, for both business and leisure travelers [P1.3].
There are number of factor that plays a significant role in consumer motivation. The factors that
help in increasing demand for London among leisure as well as business travel are:
Buyer’s decision process: Purchasing capabilities of visitors help in determining whether they
can afford a leisure holiday or not. The purchasing decisions of the consumers are based on the
price of the packages, the popularity of destination, the services offered and more.
Consumer behaviour: Marketing managers of tourist operators keep creating awareness
regarding the tourism destination. The consumer behaviour is one of the most important factor
that influences the decision making process of the consumers. The creative advertisements and
promotion helps in grabbing the attention of the consumers towards London.
Figure 1: Model of consumer behaviour
(Source: shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in, 2018)
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Tourist Motivation: Tourist motivation is important in order to increase tourism demand of
London. For example, if a visitor is interested in cultural tourism then they can visit London in
order to explore British Museum, National Gallery, Hampton Court, Buckingham Palace and
more. These factors assist in attracting leisure tourist; however, London is gaining popularity as
a business hub all across the globe. In the year 2015, around 3.7 million tourists visited London
in order to attend meeting, conduct business transactions and make business deals
(londonandpartners.com, 2018).
D. Analyse the principles of market segmentation and discuss how you can use these in
destination marketing planning for London [P1.4, M1].
The management of Visit London makes use of market segmentation so that they are able to
categorize their visitors as per their needs and requirement and fulfil their demands. This allows
the tour operator in satisfying their consumers in an enhanced manner. The various market
segments that are commonly used by operators are:
Figure 3: Market segmentation
(Source: Cross et al., 2015)
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Psychographic segmentation: This type of segmentation categorises the visitors based on the
perception of the tourist regarding a specific service, commodity or their values and beliefs that
they follow.
Demographic Segmentation: This type of segmentation allows the operators to divide their
visitors based n their ethnic background, purchasing behaviour, age, religion, culture and more
(Baeza, 2015). This will help the tour operators in categorizing their tourist interesting in cultural
tourism or aged base tourism activities.
Behavioural Segmentation: This type of segmentation helps in dividing the visitors based on
their expectation from a particular tourist destination. Visit London is highly benefited from this
type of segmentation as this segment helps the operator in understanding the purchasing
behaviour of their consumers.
Visit London is expected to consider the demographic as well as psychographic segmentation
as it will assist the organization to segment their visitors for culture as well as adventure travel.
They will also have the opportunity of developing luxury packages for their consumers. The tour
operators will also be able to categorise their visitors based on their income generation that will
help them in analyzing the best tour package for London, as it is an expensive city.
Conclusion
The report helps in gaining information regarding the significance of market segmentation.
According to segmentation, it is evident that psychographic segmentation as well as
demographic segmentation is most appropriate for the tourism industry of London as the tour
operators will be assisted by this segmentation while arranging tour activities for their tourists.
The different elements of the core concept of marketing have been discussed in a detailed
manner. The report helps in evaluating about the strengths and weaknesses of tourism industry
of London. The different factors playing important role in consumer motivation have been
analyzed.
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Task 2
A. Critically analyse the importance of the strategic marketing planning for London as a
tourist destination and discuss the importance of marketing research in the planning
process (critically analyse the plan) [P2.1, P2.2. D.1].
it is evident that most of the tour organizers of London implement a number of strategies and
methods that helps them in analysing and understanding the business environment of UK. The
tour operators make use of tool such as SWOT analysis that provides them with the information
about the internal as well as external business environment of the travel industry (Kotler, 2015).
The PLC methods reveal that London is presently situated at the growth stage of the curve as
the demand to visit London is increasing at a rapid rate. These techniques help the tour
operators to understand the different business environment prevailing in the tourism sector. The
marketing managers are expected to conducts market analysis so that they are able to collect
information regarding the current market trend. After gaining the data regarding the present
market, the managers develop an appropriate marketing plan. The strategic marketing plan
helps the marketing managers in develop clear goals and objectives that will be beneficial for
the development and growth of the traveller. It serves in guiding the employees to underhand
the steps that should be followed in order to achieve the objectives and goals of the tourism
organization.
B. Discuss the relevance of marketing research and market information to travel and
tourism sector managers at London Tourism (www.visitlondon.com) [P 2.2].
Marketing research and Marketing information are the methods that are used by the market
manager of the tour organizers in order to communicate and interact with their consumers.
These techniques allow them in enhancing and building meaningful customer relation, the
managers are able to understand the trends and needs of their consumers. Gaining information
regarding current trends is vital for the growth and development of tourism industry. For
example, it is evident that sustainable tourism is gaining popularity among the consumers at it
allows them in protecting the environment (Armstrong et al., 2015). Presently most of the
marketing department of tourism organizations are making use of marketing information system
that consists of people, equipment and procedures to gather, sort, analyse, and evaluate the
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current market requirements and demands. The system helps in enhancing decision-making
process and allows the management to take appropriate decisions within the stipulated time.
Market research conducted by the tour operator of London allows them in gaining valuable
information existing problem in the market, increasing competition, strategies that are being
used by other competitors, current as well as future market trends and the growth opportunities
that are available. Marketing manager conducts a number of surveys, take online interviews and
group discussion with certain focus group that helps them in understanding the ways they can
improve their tourism business within London.
C. Assess the positive and negative influence of marketing on the society (of people of
London and the visitors). Consider elements such as responsibility and ethics,
regulations and public policy,
The marketing activity of the tour operators of London generates both positive as well as
negative impact on the people and the visitors of London. Some of the most common impact o
the marketing activity has been mentioned below:
Social responsibility: The tour operators must be accountable towards the information that is
provided by them in their promotional advertisements. They must ensure that all the message
and information are authentic and accurate. This will help them in enhancing their visitor’s
experience (Sheth and Sisodia, 2015). However, if the operators are not socially responsible
they will lose the interest and trust of their consumers.
Environment: The marketing managers of tourism industries are expected to ensure that their
marketing activities do not generate any waste and harmful impact on the environment. If they
damage the environment in any manner, they will lose the interest of their consumers.
Marketing managers must implement sustainable tourism practices that help in protecting the
environment or else their activities scan cause a lot of pollution.
Ethics: The tour organizers of London are expected to follow all the ethical codes and are
required to remain true to their promises and statements. They must provide their consumers
with the offers and services that have been stated by them. Unethical behaviour in business can
result in reduced faith of visitors and they will avoid associating with complicated firms.
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Task 3
A. Identify the elements of marketing mix and discuss the issues of designing and
developing the product, price and place elements for your chosen UK tour operator
[P3.1, M2].
The tour operators make use of methods such as marketing mix in order to gain information
regarding the policies and strategy of an organization.
Marketing mix of Expedia.com
Product: Expedia.com is a popular website that provides their visitors with hotel reservation
services, air booking services, vacation packages, cruise booking services, and car rental
services. The company also services their consumers with various email services such as travel
alert that is sent due to availability of similar prices.
Price: The management ensures to attract consumer from both reasonable as well as luxury
segment. The organization makes use of penetration pricing strategy. The company conducts in
depth research and the findings revealed that majority of their consumers were of middle
economy, so they changed pricing strategy as per their target consumer.
Place: Expedia is popular and has a strong global presence. The company is accepted with the
help of local sites in Brazil, Germany, China, UK, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Norway,
Sweden, Mexico, Italy, Vietnam, Japan, Australia and more. In order to book hotels or flights,
the company make use of Amadeus and Sabre reservation.
Promotion: As Expedia.com is an online brand, they are required to follow a vivid marketing
policy. The website is updated at a regular interval to provide detailed information regarding new
offers and packages. They advertise about their services on Google Ads, Social media,
television commercial and newspapers. In order to create awareness about their packages they
use the method of bulk email.
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