Consumer Behavior & Brand Expectation: Research Proposal Analysis

This research proposal investigates consumer behavior and brand expectation within the tourism sector, specifically focusing on the perception of Mauritius among European tourists. The study explores the relationship between destination image and branding, analyzing how brand image influences tourist behavior and destination choice. The methodology involves a survey using an 18-attribute scale and Likert scales to gauge consumer perceptions and expectations. The research also includes a Gantt chart outlining the project timeline and milestones. Data analysis reveals high satisfaction levels among European tourists regarding Mauritius, highlighting the importance of atmosphere, beaches, and hotel services. The conclusion suggests that Mauritius does not require repositioning due to its positive brand image. The research provides valuable insights for Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) to formulate effective marketing strategies. The report covers various aspects, including aim and motivation, research objectives, background and literature review, research questions, hypotheses, research design and methodology, Gantt chart, milestones, research process, data analysis, and the contribution and conclusion of the research.

Running Head: Research Proposal
Final Research Proposal
Consumer Behavior & Brand Expectation

Research Proposal 1
Table of Contents
Aim and Motivation of the Research...............................................................................................2
Research Objectives.........................................................................................................................3
Background and Literature Review.................................................................................................3
Research Question and Hypotheses.................................................................................................4
Research Design and Methodology.................................................................................................5
Gantt chart.......................................................................................................................................5
Milestones........................................................................................................................................6
Research Process.............................................................................................................................7
Data Analysis...................................................................................................................................7
Contribution and Conclusion of the Research.................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11

Research Proposal 2
Aim and Motivation of the Research
Tourism is considered as an effective and efficient monetary segment which is growing very
speedily. An improvement in the tourism can prove an efficient tool for eliminating poverty,
financial expansion, and for the security of social and common assets. Consumer behavior plays
a significant role in the tourism (Lee, 2014). Information about the consumer behavior helps in
conducting an efficient survey about the tourism growth. The main motive behind conducting
this study is to evaluate and measure the consumer behavior in tourism. Every item has a
deceptive picture and placing the traits in the psyches of purchasers, which is the item, brand
positioning, and supervision. In the tourism sector, the market value of a particular destination is
what will enforce the expansion of the brand. All the tourists selected the destination as per their
requirements and imagination. The traveler must pay attention towards the brand image of the
destination or its ranking. This will have a high influence on the decision of the travelers
regarding a destination. They mostly want to visit on popular places which required by every
individual. The main aim of this research is to identify the destination position on the lists of
European travelers. This helps the travelers in taking their decision (Morrison, 2013). Also, it is
essential to measure how much importance travelers give to the brand image of a destination.
As per the efforts performed by the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), the brand
image of a destination tourism has been formulated in a significant manner which helps in
attracting lots of tourists. On the basis of consumer behavior, they will formulate their choices,
final decision and thought process. Consumer behavior is considered the main factor which is
responsible for shaping their tastes and preferences. Consumer behavior is a combination of

Research Proposal 3
various factors such as devouring, acquiring, administrations and discarding items, and also
involves the choice processes that take after and go before such activities (Gómez, 2015).
Research Objectives
The main objective of this research proposal is to understand and evaluate how perceived image
of a destination and brand and consumer behavior is essential in attracting a large number of
tourists towards a particular place. Through this one can easily understand the brand image
perceptions of different tourists especially the behavior of European and Mauritius tourists. The
research paper also gives us knowledge of the literature and also helps in utilizing appropriate
methodology (Manhas, 2013). This will be helpful in providing important information for the
process of providing a brand image to a particular tourist destination and also depict what leads
to that perception. In this paper, we have selected the published case study of Mauritius among
European tourists for conducting further research on it.
Background and Literature Review
Branding is considered very essential part of a business organization. It has been utilized widely
because of the collection of different benefits it provides to a particular item. Choo (2016)
conclude that a solid brand especially stands out in a group which claims a spot in the mind of
different individuals. A solid brand is helpful in minimizing the risk associated with a particular
product experienced by different purchasers, improve the nature of the item, decreasing the
inquiry and advertisement costs, and also separates the products from contestants. Marking is
also considered as most suitable aspects which build purchasers mindful for the extra quality that
an item has, and in addition it also helpful in adding a great extent to client reliability and
maintenance (Dinnie, 2015).

Research Proposal 4
The point of view regarding the brand image is different as per difference in thinking of the
consumers. As per the perspective of the consumer brand image is largely what they consider
about the product where different emotional values and or other distinct perspectives are linked
to it. It can be said that when a particular place has a strong brand image, they will be able to
attract a large number of potential tourists that are required by the destination (Horner, 2016). It
can be said that when a name of the brand is connected to a destination, tourists do not have any
option other than trusting the organization that they will get everything for what they are paying
for.
Research Question and Hypotheses
The given research proposal describe the following research questions which are mainly
considered in the study:
 How the inter-related connection exists between destination image and destination
branding?
 How observed brand image and consumer behavior influence tourism of a particular
destination.
 How can DMO formulate a standardized strategy of marketing for different markets and
cultures?
The main objective of this research proposal after deciding these research questions can be
defined as formulating a relation and understanding between the brand image of tourist and its
influence on tourism. In addition to it, some assumptions have also been formulated that provides
a deep and concise understanding of the importance of brand image (Lantos, 2015). This can be
beneficial for DMOs in formulating effective and efficient marketing strategies. Furthermore, by

Research Proposal 5
studying the above-mentioned literature, different aspects have been applied in the case study
which proves helpful in finding the answers to above-mentioned questions.
Research Design and Methodology
The proposal study is mainly based on the organization related to a study poll and configuration.
In this proposal, the 18-attribute scale is used for measuring the requirements and perceptions of
different customers. The main motive was to measure whether interests of different tourists are
related to the different sought pictures which can be utilized for the positioning motive of
Mauritius. In this, the selected respondents rated their requirements and view of every quality by
using a Likert Scale of –scale. For finding the answers, open-ended inquiries had been made.
This was done for measuring the brand picture properties of the selected destination.
The required information was collected from extracting European visitors at the air terminal of
Mauritius. It is considered the best source of collected right information about the feeling of
visitors and tourists and also helps in measuring expectation and impression of different
customers for the destination (Zhang, 2014). It was very complex to study extracting travelers
who had a greater place for representing their point of view in light of their participation in a few
parts of the destination. In March 2007, conducting research took more than 4 weeks to complete
the review at the takeoff lounge & registration line. The strategy of comfort testing mainly
focused on European travelers why should sharp finish the survey. For further study, a different
type of self-administrated questionnaires was distributed among 400 British, Swiss, French,
Italian and Belgian tourists.

Research Proposal 6
Gantt chart
Gantt chart is created using the activities and their respective start and finish time. While considering
the start and finish date of the activities, we have taken care of few parameters to ensure that logical
flow is not disrupted. For example, Testing is done after every phase to ensure that we do not spend
too much time on testing the product at the end. In addition, there are few phases like, change
management and risk management that are considered at the end itself (Estes ,2014). As the project
will go live after successful deployment and change management will only come into the picture for
the next delivery for the same project. The following chart shows the research projects with the
duration:
Milestones
A milestone is considered as a way to measure, observe and evaluate the progress and
performance of a project. Milestone generally exists on intermediate stages that must be achieved
before reaching a final objective and goal (Assaker, 2014). The intermediate stages of a project
should be considered significant for meeting the overall objective of the project. The below-
mentioned table shows the milestone of the research project proposal:
Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors

Research Proposal 7
Research Project 38 days Mon 10-10-16 Thu 01-12-16
Research Question
Proposal
3 days Mon 10-10-16 Thu 13-10-16
Literature Review 7 days Thu 13-10-16 Mon 24-10-16 2
Data Collection 7 days Mon 24-10-16 Wed 02-11-16 3
Data Analysis 7 days Wed 02-11-16 Fri 11-11-16 4
Data Interpretation 7 days Fri 11-11-16 Tue 22-11-16 5
Results Discussion 7 days Tue 22-11-16 Thu 01-12-16 6
Final Submission 1 day Mon 10-10-16 Tue 11-10-16
Research Process
The research is done through questionnaire survey which is done on the four hundred employees
that are taken as the respondents because they are experienced. The convenient sampling is done
for doing the survey. The questionnaire is distributed among the four hundred employees
according to the convenience then after filling the questionnaire by the respondents; the response
is measured through Likert scale (Ong, 2016). Then after collecting the data, the data is analyzed
through using 18-attribute scale method which helps to analyze the large statistical data with
fewer errors. After analyzing the data, correlation and regression are done for accepting or
rejecting the hypothesis. Then the data is presented through Gantt chart.

Research Proposal 8
Data Analysis
From the selected respondents only 85.5% of visitors were able to fill their questionnaires, the
number of which was 342 out of 400. Instead of this, it was also noticed that the percentage of
male and female tourists was almost similar to each other. The average age group of respondents
was 40-49 and 30-39. During the survey time, it was noticed that out of the total, 56.7% of the
European tourists were visiting the first time, 43.3 % of the total were regular visitors who were
continuously repeating their visit and 17 % of the total came for the third time (Thamhain, 2014).
The tourists who are visited first time mainly stayed for long periods such as one week or more
and the others had visited only for a short period such as one or two days, or some were on
honeymoon. The 97.1% of the total were European tourists who especially recommended
Mauritius to others as they considered it as an interesting and very attractive tourist destination
(Zhang, 2014). In addition to it, the almost 97.4% tourists had felt that the visit to this destination
was a full-worthy for their money. The travelers were requested to give their opinion and rate it
for the image of the brand on a Likert Scale before their arrival. Through this scale the
destination is ranked from point 1 which depicted very poor to point 5, depicting an outstanding
destination.
All this depicts that such discoveries furthermore disclosed that the utilitarian qualities, for the
most part, greeted by travelers. The travelers conclude that their stay in the hotel was excellent,
so they rated it 4.5 for the attractive atmosphere and beaches of Mauritius. Rating of 4.3
provided to the characteristics of the hotels. All this depicts that the Mauritius has been an
interesting destination for the European travelers in terms of its quality of the atmosphere,
service of hotels, and beautiful beaches. Hotel service, as well as the services of the hotel staff,
also appreciated by the visitors as they have always found them respectful and well-mannered

Research Proposal 9
(Horner, 2016). Instead of all these appreciations, 3.2 rating were provided to the provision of
activities for any celebration and families.
Contribution and Conclusion of the Research
The main motivation behind conducting this study was in order to measure the expectation of a
brand and picture impression of Mauritius among European visitor. The most important thing
here was that one-way ANOVA and explaining insights were used to distribute and break down
the received outputs (East, 2013). Through studying this study, it can be said that Mauritius do
not need any re-positioning. This is because its practical and mental image or brand picture traits
disclose that this place is most attractive and beautiful place. All such decisions helped the
European tourists in selecting an appropriate destination for a visit. These credits provided by
different tourists exceptionally prove beneficial for the Europeans. On the basis of it, Europeans
are liable for making a decision regarding the basic business leadership process and rehash buy
expectations. There is a strong relationship between the discernments and loyalty of destination.
This relationship discloses that the place has been able in managing the involvement of
sightseers and also able to manage the guarantees committed to different purchasers before their
traveling starts. In addition to it, various actions are taken to address the feeble characteristics of
the picture and unite the general brand picture of the Mauritius observed by the European
sightseers. All destination advertisers are focusing more on creating limited time wars which
define mental as well as utilitarian traits because these are considered the most important aspects
for buyers basic leadership process. It has also been identified that an association exists mainly
between the impression of brand image characteristics and WOM regarding the destinations for
tourism (Chen, 2013). Mauritius had a large number of regular and loyal customers who have

Research Proposal 10
established different expectations from this destination. It is necessary to differentiate the point
of view of travelers who are regular and loyal customers and figure out activities ought to be
done to improve the quality of the apparent traits of the destination.
References
Lee, B., Lee, C. K., & Lee, J. (2014). Dynamic nature of destination image and influence of
tourist overall satisfaction on image modification. Journal of Travel Research, 53(2), 239-251.
Morrison, A. M. (2013). Marketing and managing tourism destinations. Routledge.
Gómez, M., Lopez, C., & Molina, A. (2015). A model of tourism destination brand equity: The
case of wine tourism destinations in Spain. Tourism Management, 51, 210-222.
Choo, H., & James, F. (2016). INTERNAL BRANDING OF TOURISM DESTINATION: THE
INFLUENCE OF LOCAL PEOPLE'S BRAND IDENTIFICATION ON THEIR VISITOR
SATISFACTION ACTIVITIES TOWARD VISITORS, THEIR INTENTION OF WORD-OF-
MOUTH, AND THEIR PARTICIPATION IN TOURISM AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES.
Manhas, P. S., & Dogra, J. (2013). QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND TOURISM
DESTINATION BRANDING: INTER-RELATIONSHIP AND PREFERENTIAL STUDY OF
THE COMPONENTS. Journal of Services Research, 13(1), 75.
Dinnie, K. (2015). Nation branding: concepts, issues, practice. Routledge.
Horner, S., & Swarbrooke, J. (2016). Consumer behaviour in tourism. Routledge.
Lantos, G. P. (2015). Consumer behavior in action: Real-life applications for marketing
managers. Routledge.

Research Proposal 11
East, R., Wright, M., & Vanhuele, M. (2013). Consumer behaviour: applications in marketing.
Sage.
Funk, D. C., Alexandris, K., & McDonald, H. (2016). Sport Consumer Behaviour: Marketing
Strategies. Routledge.
Camprubí, R., Guia, J., & Comas, J. (2013). The new role of tourists in destination image
formation. Current Issues in Tourism, 16(2), 203-209.
Zhang, H., Fu, X., Cai, L. A., & Lu, L. (2014). Destination image and tourist loyalty: A meta-
analysis. Tourism Management, 40, 213-223.
Chen, C. F., & Phou, S. (2013). A closer look at destination: Image, personality, relationship and
loyalty. Tourism management, 36, 269-278.
Thamhain, H. J. (2014). Assessing the effectiveness of quantitative and qualitative methods for
R&D project proposal evaluations. Engineering Management Journal, 26(3), 3-12.
Estes, A. (2014). Project Proposal: Simulation Engine for Evaluating GDP Planning Methods.
Ong, H. Y., Wang, C., & Zainon, N. (2016). Integrated Earned Value Gantt Chart (EV-Gantt)
Tool for Project Portfolio Planning and Monitoring Optimization. Engineering Management
Journal, 28(1), 39-53.
Assaker, G. (2014). Examining a hierarchical model of Australia’s destination image. Journal of
Vacation Marketing, 1356766714527104.