Lesson 4: Tourism Marketing

Definition of Marketing
- Marketing consists of all those activities necessary to
bring a product or service from the manufacturer to the
end user. These activities include:
1. The product and or service itself
2. The methods of distribution
3. The methods of pricing
4. The methods of promotion
5. The form of selling
6. The form of advertising
Strategic Marketing Process
 A Strategic marketing process can be divided into
three elements:
1. Market planning
2. Target market selection
3. The market mix selection
1. Market Planning
 In market planning, the objectives are stated and the
methods of attaining them are identified. There are
seven steps in the market planning process. These are:
a. Collection of data- data can be collected in two ways
secondary sources and from primary sources. The
second method is expensive and time consuming. Since
many organizations are not skilled to do market-
research planning, they usually ask the help of other
organizations or people who are experts in it.
b. Analysis of data- data is usually organized and interpreted. This
requires a great amount of skill and understanding. At present,
computers shorten the process of organizing and interpreting
data.
c. Identification of alternative strategies for reaching the desired
goal- in most cases, there are several ways to arrive at a desired
goal. For example, an airline company wanting to increase its
percentage of occupied seats may adopt several alternatives.
First, it can create a special fare with certain restrictions such as
the seven day advance buying. Second, it can create a special
fare based on age such as discounted fare for those below
twenty-one years of age. Third, special contracts for surplus seats
may be arranged with groups.
d. Cost/benefit analysis- the cost benefit analysis of
several methods for reaching the goals would indicate
which of the alternatives or combination of them
would be best from a financial standpoints.
e. Selecting alternatives and plan formation- after the
variables and cost/benefit for each are identified, it is
then decided which one should be carried out by the
other organization.
f. Control procedures- these are methods which analyze
the progress made in achieving the goals of the project.
g. Plan information- putting into effect the plan of action
and supervising it.
2. Target Markets
 Tourism USA suggested four steps in identifying target
markets. They are :
a. Estimate the approval of an area’s attraction. A
Disney-type theme park would create more interest
than a crocodile.
b. Estimate the distance in both travel time and travel
costs. The greater the attraction, the longer the
distance potential tourists will trvel.
c. Identify the potential Target markets geographically by
locating the population clusters within the maximum
distance determined from the estimated travel time and
lure of the attraction.
d. Identify the actual and potential competition in the
Target market.
3. Marketing Mix Selection
- Marketing mix is the combination of elements product,
price, promotion and distribution that interact and
complement each other to attain the objectives of the
market plan.
A. Product
 A vacation consists of several parts or products such as transportation,
accommodation, food and beverage, sightseeing, entertainment and
souvenirs. Several providers will offer one or more of these products or
services.
 There are several criteria that should be met in deciding to provide a
product or service. First, there should be a heavy demand for the product
or service from at least one important segment with the possibility of
additional business from other segments of the market. Second, new
products and services should suit the general image of the destination
area and complement existing ones. Third, new products and services
should be offered in accordance with available supply of manpower,
money and natural resources. Fourth, any added product or service
should contribute to the profit and/or growth of the entire destination.
B. Price
 Price are usually lower for destinations that are open
the whole year and higher for destinations that are
open only part of the year since supply is limited.
 If products and services of an agency are similar to
those of its competitors, its price will be similar to
theirs. However, if its products and services are
unique, it charge more than its competitors.
Summary
Tourism marketing is a systematic process by which an
organization tries to maximize the satisfaction of
tourism demand through research, forecasting, and the
selection of tourism products and services to meet that
demand.
Tourism marketing is different from marketing
manufactured goods because of its unique qualities. It
is a service which is intangible and perishable. It is
composed of several components such as
transportation, accommodation, food and beverage,
entertainment and other activities. Travel
intermediaries are necessary in tourism. Its demand is
highly elastic.
There are three kinds of marketing orientation
namely: product orientation, consumer orientation, and
societal orientation. Product orientation places
emphasis on available products or services. Consumer
orientation emphasizes the satisfaction of the needs
and wants of tourists. Societal orientation emphasizes
not only the satisfaction of tourist’s needs and wants
but also the long-terms interests of the community.
Market segmentation is a process by which people
with similar needs and wants are grouped together in
order to serve the market better. It has four categories.
These are the socio-economic or demographic,
psychographic, product-related geographic
segmentation.
The concept of the product life cycle is used by the
marketer as an additional guide to suitable strategies to
adopt in choosing, attracting and serving target
markets.
The strategic marketing process is divided into three
elements: market planning, target market selection, and
the marketing mix selection. In market planning the
objectives are stated and the methods of attaining them
are identified. The target market is composed of the
segments chosen. Marketing mix is the combination of
elements such as product, pricing, promotion, and
distribution that complement each other to achieve the
objectives of the market plan.