Marketing in Travel and Tourism Sector: Planning and Analysis Report

This report delves into the core concepts and strategic importance of marketing within the travel and tourism sector. It begins by defining marketing and its relevance to the industry, emphasizing the need for effective strategies to attract customers and build brand image. The report explores essential marketing concepts such as exchange processes, customer satisfaction, and the production concept, specifically using Thomson, a UK-based tour operator, as a case study. It analyzes the impact of the marketing environment, including demographic, political, and technological forces, on individual travel and tourism businesses. Additionally, the report examines components influencing customer motivation and demand, such as price, psychological factors, and safety. Market segmentation principles are analyzed, highlighting their role in marketing planning. The significance of strategic marketing planning is also discussed, including models like SISTAC, alongside the importance of market research and information for managers. The report further assesses the impact of marketing on society and explores the marketing mix elements and the concept of the total tourism product, concluding with a comprehensive overview of the travel and tourism marketing landscape.

MARKETING IN TRAVEL
AND TOURISM SECTOR
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Explanation about the core concepts of marketing in travel and tourism sector..............3
1.2 Assessment of the impact of marketing environment on individual travel and tourism
business...................................................................................................................................4
1.3 Discussion of components which affect customer motivation and demand in the travel and
tourism sector.........................................................................................................................6
1.4 Analysis of the principles of market segmentation and its uses in marketing planning...6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Analysis of significance of strategic marketing planning................................................7
2.2 Discussion of the marketing research and market information for manager....................8
2.3 Assessment of the impact of marketing in society...........................................................9
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
3.1 Discussion about the marketing mix................................................................................9
3.2 Assessment of importance of service sector mix element..............................................10
3.3 Concept of the total tourism product to an individual tourism.......................................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................11
4.1 & 4.2...............................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
In the present time, every business unit requires an excellent growth and success. Due to
high level of competition, entities develop effective strategies and tactics. In order to attain
desired outcomes in the business. Marketing is one of the activity by which firm can attract a
large number of customers. It is a process under which organisation introduces and promotes its
business products and services in the market and acquire them towards company (Álvarez,
Martín and Casielles, 2007). In the absence of marketing, no firm can develop its brand image in
the market. Present report provides a detailed knowledge about the significance and concept of
marketing with respect to travel and tourism sector. In this sector, marketing is essential because
organisation can deliver information about services only with the help of effective approach of
marketing. Element of marketing mix and importance of strategic marketing planning has also
been discussed in this report with respect to travel and tourism industry. The major objective of
this assignment is to understand the planning and concept of marketing in travel and tourism
sector.
TASK 1
1.1 Explanation about the core concepts of marketing in travel and tourism sector
Marketing is an activity in which business unit promotes and advertises its commodities
and services in the marketplace. This assists company in acquiring large number of customers
and developing high goodwill of company. According to the marketing concept, main aim of
marketing is to keep customer’s needs and wants satisfied by delivering services and products
according to their requirements (Anwar and Sohail, 2004). In context of Thomson, it is a famous
tour operator in the UK which delivers variety of holiday types to suit all ages and tastes of
customers. Thomson is going to create summer 2019 holiday in the Turkey and Spain so it is
very important for marketing manager to understand concept of marketing.
Following are various core concepts of marketing so it is very important to understand and
implement these concepts in its marketing activities. These core concepts are discussed below- Exchange process- As per this concept of marketing, there should be exchange of goods
and services in between customers and sellers as well as its value can be determined in
terms of money. In the Thomson company, it is impossible to conduct marketing without
exchanging process. (Doolin, Burgess and Cooper, 2002).
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 Satisfy customer needs and wants- The major objective of marketing is to identify
customer needs and wants as well as deliver services according to their needs. It is a great
duty of company to keep customers satisfied and develop relationship with them (Frew,
2000). Thomson should maintain a healthy relationship with its customers by delivering
products and services according to customer’s demand and requirements.
 Production concept- As per this concept, production should be done according to the
requirements of customers. Travel and Tourism Company should focus on producing
large amount of services which can help to meet the customer’s demand.
Figure 1: Concept of marketing
(Source: Concept of marketing, 2017)
1.2 Assessment of the impact of marketing environment on individual travel and tourism
business
Thomson is one of the famous tour operators in the UK which delivers a high quality of
travelling and tourism services to its customers. Its major objective is to deliver high quality of
services and gain high market share as well as profitability (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2012).
For attaining this objective, it needs to analyse its marketing environment. It consists with
several macro and micro factors. Organisation should analyse its business environment before
starting marketing activities of the summer holiday 2019 in the Turkey and Spain. Following are
some component of macro marketing environment-
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 Demographic force- This is an essential force because Thomson delivers services
according to customer’s taste and age. Thus, this factor implies that there are different
age, gender, occupation, education, region and culture as well as income level of
customers (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). This factor affects the cited venture and so, it is
very important for company to analyse this marketing environment and deliver services
according to the background and needs of customers. As organisation is going to organise
summer holiday in Turkey and Spain so it required to focus life style, income level,
education and age of the customer. Political force- In the travel and tourism sector, UK government have developed several
kinds of legislations, regulations, rules, code of conducts etc which every corporation
have to follow in their business activities and functions(Kotler, Bowen and Makens,
2006). Thus, Thomson can largely influence by this force while it will organise summer
holiday in Turkey and Spain. Technological force- This factor can affect several activities of marketing in the
Thomson. In order to promote, advertise and operate various business activities,
Thomson requires effective technology (Kozinets, 2002). While any changes have been
made in the technological factors, it will impact upon the business operations of
organisation Natural force- Thomson company can influence by this natural factor because in this
includes natural sources like climate, weather etc. Due to changing in the season
operation of business can change. For instance, Summer holiday will organise in the
Summer because this time mostly people comes for spend their holidays.
Following are some components of micro marketing environment
 Customer- According to the needs and wants of customers related to product and
services, company have to supply its services and products at both destinations. Thus, it
can be said that this is major component of marketing environment (Middleton, Fyall,
Morgan and Ranchhod, 2009). Suppliers- In the travel and tourism sector, suppliers delivers various services and
facilities such as transportation, food, staying facilities, accommodation, beverage etc.
Thus, it can be said that corporation have to consider this element at the time of business
decision.
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 Competitors- In the travel and tourism sector there are various competitors so it is very
important for cited venture to monitor the performance of competitor and deliver services
to customer in high quality a reasonable price.
1.3 Discussion of components which affect customer motivation and demand in the travel and
tourism sector
In travel and tourism sector, while any customer purchases services, there are various
factors which can affect the motivation level of buyers. It is very important for Thomson to
understand various components that affect the motivation level of customers (Mihalič, 2000).
These factors are as follows- Price factor- This is a significant factor which is related to income level of customers.
While any customer selects the destination for visiting, customer will consider cost and
prices of that particular destination and services. Psychological factor-Customers perception, interest, attitudes and thoughts, etc. can
always affect their purchasing habit. Most of the customers like to visit on regional place
while young people like to visit on beautiful and clean place (Morrison and Teixeira,
2004). Thus, different perception of customers can affect their motivation level while
they select destination in this travel and tourism sector.
 Freedom from threats and danger- According to this factor, people like to visit on the
place at where less risk of threats and hazard. Every customer wants to visit on safe and
secured place so this factor can affect their choice while they select visiting destination.
1.4 Analysis of the principles of market segmentation and its uses in marketing planning
In an organisation, while manager develops marketing planning then it is very important to focus
on the market segmentation. It is a process under which whole market is divided into several
segments and sub markets (Moutinho, 2011). With the help of this strategy, company can focus
more on the specific group of customers and segment on the market. According to the needs and
wants of customers, they can deliver services and products for that sub group and segment. There
are major four kinds of market segmentations such as geographical, behavioural, demographical
and psycho graphical. In the context of Thomson, it will focus on the demographical and psycho
graphical segmentation by which it will serve the services according to location of customers.
According to the principle of market segmentation, Thomson will create the summer holiday
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2019 at Spain and Turkey for 20 to 40 year group of customers (Palmer and McCole, 2000).
With help of principle of marketing segmentation, cited venture can more focus on the needs and
requirement of customer. Thus, it can be said that at the time of marketing planning,
segmentation is very important by which services can divided according to the need of
customers. Following are some other importance of marketing segmentation- Better communication- Market segmentation can help of company in effectively
acknowledge the customer requirement related to product and services. They can easily
communicate with end user.
 Reduce risk- Market segmentation helps to corporation in overcome the risk of business
failure because in this company develops the services and commodity for specific group
of customer (Pizam and Mansfeld, 2000). Marketing manager can effectively analyse
customer demand and condition of market in this aspect so they can easily acknowledge
that which kind of product required in which group in the market.
TASK 2
2.1 Analysis of significance of strategic marketing planning
In the Thomson tour operator, in order to create summer holiday for Spain and Turkey,
strategic marketing planning is an important aspect by which company can easily collect and
analyse marketing information and implement new strategy for attaining its objective (Riege and
Perry, 2000). This provides detailed analysis for the development of future growth and long term
object. In this aspect, company can implement SISTAC model which can help in developing a
systematic strategic marketing planning. This model is as follows- Situation- At the first stage of strategic marketing planning, Thomson can analyse
economic condition by using various models such as SWOT, PESTLE, etc. Objective- In this second stage, cited venture can decide its objective of business such as
enhancing profitability, sales, market growth, market share, etc (Swarbrooke and Horner,
2001). Strategy- According to the decided objective, company will select a specific strategy for
business by which it can attain its targets. Tactics and action- In order to attain object, firm will use some tactics and action such as
market research, customer feedback etc (Tapper and Font, 2004).
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 Control- Organisation effectively monitors and controls the overall planning of strategic
marketing.
2.2 Discussion of the marketing research and market information for manager
In the Thomson tour operator, in order to create summary holiday 2019 in the Turkey and
Spain, market research is very important. It is a process under which company can collect,
analyse and interpret relevant information (Theobald, 2005). This process can largely assist the
manager of cited venture by which manager can easily design a suitable strategy and conduct
tactics for effective implementation of plan and attain set objective. Following are some benefits
of market research for the manager of cited venture-
Figure 2: Market research
(Source: Vargo and Lusch, 2004)
 Manager of Thomson can easily acknowledge the actual needs and wants of customers by
the help of market research. By knowing customer’s requirements, company can deliver
services accordingly and acquire them toward the organisation.
 Manager can beneficial by market research because he/she can easily analyse the
condition of other rival in the travel and tourism sector. This assists to company in
developing competitive strategy and tactics for the organisation (Vargo and Lusch 2004).
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2.3 Assessment of the impact of marketing in society
In the present time, marketing helps to customers in large manner as with help of this
aspect customer can acknowledge about product features, prices, distribution channels etc. In the
absence of marketing, customer can unable to get touch with organisation and also unable to
collect information about the commodity (Vorhies and Morgan, 2005). Thomson tour operator
can also delivers the information about services features, accommodation, cost etc. In addition to
this, customer can collect information by use of advertisement, social media, websites etc.
Following are some advantage of the marketing toward society- Inform customer- Marketing helps to customer in proving information about the product
prices, features, cost, distribution etc. With help of marketing, customer can directly
communicate with company and get knowledge about services (Swarbrooke and Horner,
2001).
 Improve standard of living- Marketing helps to the society in improving their living
standards.
TASK 3
3.1 Discussion about the marketing mix
Marketing mix is one of the significant concepts and theories of marketing which defines
the product, price, place and promotion. In the given scenario, Thomson Company is going to
create the summer holiday of 209 in Turkey and Spain (Tapper and Font, 2004). Thus, in order to
create this service, company needs to focus on the marketing mix. Following are some elements
of this concept- Product- In travel and tourism sector, tourism products are intangible and it can feel only
by experience. Thomson can face the issue rerated to selection of product and services
because it is very important to select that services which can deliver effective customer
satisfaction. Price- Thomson tour operator also faced the issue related to select pricing strategy
because in the travel and tourism sector, there is high level of competition. It is very
important to select reasonable and affordable prices so as customer can purchase the
services (Tsiotsou and Ratten, 2010).
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 Place- Place is one of the most significant elements in the marketing mix where actually
services can be delivered to customers. In this case of Thomson, cited venture is going to
create summer Holiday 2019 at Turkey and Spain (Vargo and Lusch, 2004). Turkey and
Spain is natural, attractive, historical and beautiful place which can give effective
satisfaction to its customers.
 Promotion- In order to promote and advertise services, Thomson can also face issue.
Cited venture can use social media and print media for promoting and advertising its
services in the market.
3.2 Assessment of importance of service sector mix element
Service sector mix element is another one of the significant aspects in marketing which
includes people, place and physical evidence. People include customers and employee who are
connected with company. In addition to this, process are using for delivering services to its
customers. On the other hand, physical evidence can be used to distribute the services by
physical store. In a simple word it can be said that service marketing mix can use to deliver the
organisational message to the customer in the market (Vorhies and Morgan 2005). In context of
Thomson tour operator, physical evidence element includes comfortable seats, design of hotel,
resort, transportation, natural beauty of destination, facilities and arrangement for the customers.
On the other hand, in context of people, Thomson fulfils the needs and wants of customers by
offering high quality of accommodation services. In addition to this, its employees can also get
effective wages, salary, working condition etc. Thus, it can be said that, cited venture has
effectively use all elements of marketing mix as well as service marketing mix for its customers.
3.3 Concept of the total tourism product to an individual tourism
Total tourism product is a set of services, facilities, resources and experience which is
delivered by the tourism organisation to its customers in the market. In this, tourism products
include accommodation, transportation, food and beverage, entertainment, infrastructure, etc.
which assist in delivering effective satisfaction level to its customers in the market (Lawson,
2016). Total tourism product of Thomson tour operator is a set of activities and package of
services which will offer in the summer holiday 2019 in Turkey and Spain. This tourism product
can deliver effective satisfaction level to its customers by which they can get effective
experience.
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TASK 4
4.1 & 4.2
Covered in Poster
CONCLUSION
From this report, it can be concluded that marketing in travel and tourism is very by
which organisation in this sector can be able to provide information about the services to its
customers. In absence of marketing, company can unable to reach the right customer and
customer can also unable to collect data about services. It can also be articulated that principle of
market segmentation, strategic marketing planning and marketing mix is very important for
company to implement effective marketing fundamental.
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REFERENCES
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Tapper, R. and Font, X., 2004. Tourism supply chains. Report of a Desk Research Project for the
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Online
Marketing research in tourism. 2016. [Online]. Available through:
http://www.ehow.com/about_6621851_marketing-research-tourism.html.
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