19 Tourism Marketing

Learning Objectives Appreciate the Internet’s impact on tourism marketing. Become familiar with the marketing mix and be able to formulate the best mix for a particular travel product. Appreciate the importance of the relationship between the marketing concept and product planning and development. Understand the vital relationship between pricing and marketing. Be able to do market segmentation to plan a marketing program for the business you are most interested in. Demonstrate the linkage between tourism policy and tourism marketing.

Marketing Mix The marketing mix is composed of every factor that influences the marketing effort Image Advertising Selling Public relations Service quality Research Timing Brands Packaging Pricing Channels of distribution Product

What is Marketing The American Marketing Association defines Marketing as: “an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.”

Product Life Cycle Introduction Growth Maturity Saturation Decline Sales Volume Dollars Profit Margins Introduction Growth Maturity Saturation Decline

Factors that Influence Price Policies Product quality Product distinctiveness Extent of the competition Method of distribution Character of the market Cost of the product and service Cost of distribution Margin of profit desired Seasonality Special promotional prices Psychological considerations

Price Skimming Skimming is appropriate when the product or service has the following characteristics: Price inelasticity No close substitutes High promotion elasticity Distinct market segments based on price

Penetration Pricing Penetration pricing is appropriate when the following factors are present: High price elasticity Economies of scales An easy fit of the product into consumer purchasing patterns

Selection of Channels of Distribution Channels of distribution are selected by Analyzing the product Determining the nature and extent of the market Analyzing the channels by sales Determining the cooperation you can expect from the channel Determining the assistance you will have to give to the channel Determining the number of outlets to be used

Promotion In order to sell the product it is necessary to: Attract attention Create interest Create a desire Get action

Typical Bases for Market Segmentation Geographic Demographic Socio-economic Psychographic Behavior patterns Consumption patterns Consumer predispositions

Typical Bases for Market Segmentation Typical bases for market segmentation. Source: W. Zikmund and M. D’Amico, Marketing, 3rd ed., copyright ©1984, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; adapted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., from Philip Kotler, Principles of Marketing, copyright ©1980, p. 297.