Micro Perspective of

the Tourism and

Hospitality
Chapter 11 – Determine the Different Types of Tourism
Promotion
1. Meaning of Tourism Promotion
Tourism promotion means stimulating sales through the dissemination
of information. It means trying to encourage actual and potential
customers to travel. According to Wahab (1997), the objectives of
promotion are:
• To make the tourist product widely known;
• To make it very attractive to encourage many people to try it; and
• To make the message attractive without being dishonest.
2. Promotion and Communication
Good promotion is good communication. Developing the promotional
mix is an exercise in communication. The communication system is
made up of the sender, receiver, and message. The sender transmits
certain information that will change people’s attitudes to create a
desire to use the product or service. The receiver is the potential
tourist. The message can be verbal, visual, or written The end goal of a
promotion is behavior modification. The goal is accomplished through
messages that seek to inform, persuade, or remind the customers.
• Information Promotion is more important during the early stages of
the product life cycle when owners of new resorts and other attractions
will seek promotional outlets to inform the public of the facilities and
amenities that would make their vacation experience worthwhile.
• Persuasive Promotion is used when an attraction is in its early stage
of growth, so its owners put very much promotional effort into devising
persuasive messages and sending them through several channels.
• Reminder Promotion is important upon reaching a mature stage.
3. Promotion and Traveler’s Buying
Process
To achieve the goal of behavior modification, the three types of
promotion described are used. Informative promotion is important to
the tourist at the attention and comprehension stages of the buying
process. Persuasive promotion tries to change attitudes, develops
intentions to buy, and then initiates the purchase. Reminder promotion
is used after the purchase has been made.
4. Relationship of Promotion to Marketing
Marketing is a total process that includes all elements from production
and product improvement to the final exchange of a product or service
for something of value, whereas promotion is one of the major
elements in the marketing mix.
5. Promotion Planning
Promotion planning determines the objectives or goals the organization should
strive to accomplish and the plan of action to attain these goals. It would result
in the following (Schmoll, 1997):
• The objectives of promotion that are consistent with the general marketing
plan;
• The identification of the market group to which the promotion is targeted;
• The identification of the specific advertising, sales support, and public
relations programs to be organized;
• The budget allocation to the various market segments and target groups; and
• The methods to be used to control and assess the effectiveness of the
promotion.
1.Goals. Goals are important in developing promotional strategies. To
be effective, goals must be SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE,
ATTAINABLE, REALISTIC, and TIME-BOUND (SMART). They
should be quantitative so that they can be measured to determine if the
outcome is achieved.
2.Target Market. A common theme is necessary for establishing a
target market. A promotion plan must recognize both characteristics of
marketing. Segmentation provides the necessary guidelines for
isolating target markets. Certain markets are not compatible with the
same destination. It is important to identify specific advertising, sales
support, and public relations programs to be organized.
3. The Message. The message that is chosen for the advertisement follows
the goals and objectives of the promotion plan. It should be
understandable, effective, and believable. Its purpose is to create
awareness of the attraction.
4. Promotion Mix. A promotion mix is a tool that conveys the message to
the customers. These are:
• Advertising – any form of paid-for, non-personal presentation and
promotion of ideas, products, or services by a specific sponsor using
some form of multi-media. It can be a form of:
i. Newspaper vii. Radio
ii. Direct mail/e-mail viii. Yellow Pages
iii. Brochures ix. Outdoor Advertising
iv. Leaflets/Folders x. Point-of-Sale Advertising
v. Television xi. Websites
vi. Magazines
• Personal Selling – an oral presentation to one or more prospective
customers on a face-to-face basis.
• Sales promotion – these are directed toward the consumer or toward
intermediaries, such as travel shows, contests, parades, and the like.
• Public Relations – the presentation of ideas, goods, or services about
an organization using mass media.
5. Budgeting. The major part of the promotion budget goes to
advertising. The budgeting process' principal costs are the cost per
message, the cost per reader, and the cost of repeated messages.
6. Major Issue of Promotion. The major considerations of promotion
are accuracy and reliability of the information on one hand and false
and misleading advertising on the other. In many instances, the
travel agency creates a high expectation of attraction that oversells
it. False, deceptive, and misleading advertisements can lead to legal
action by national governments.