Marketing in tourism
Tourism in general
As we all know every country in this world can’t live without tourism. Currently It’s the second most common types of industry in the world. The impact of new technology is changing the nature of marketing almost on a daily basis. The label of tourism consists of: hotels, airlines, ferry and cruise companies, restaurants, travel agencies and many more. The tourism industry is a relatively young one, consisting of small businesses still getting the grips of modern business practice.
Problems in tourism
Keeping in mind that travel fear is now more concerning since a lot of terrorist attacks are happening around the world and even the most famous places are getting less recognition just because of this issue. Also, one of the things that companies can’t control is the weather. For example, a really bad early summer in Croatia can make people demand late holidays therefore the housing units will be empty in the beginning.
Marketing in tourism
Marketing is an analytical orientation which involves knowing what questions need to be asked and answered to determine the business potential of a tourism enterprise in relation to: its past, present and future. At the center of marketing lie questions about consumer demand and the measures that are necessary to identify, influence, satisfy and manage it profitably. In tourism planning consumer orientation means understanding the needs, desires and perceptions of the visitor/tourist. For the destination marketer it requires a knowledge of who the potential visitors are, what services they require while making a trip and what they expect to get out of the whole experience. Most of those involved in the tourism business can genuinely believe in the product they are selling, as one that is beneficial to their clients, whether holidays are being sold to relieve stress, to aid health or to provide clients with a novel or cultural experience. It’s not enough for travel agents to sell whatever holidays will generate most profits. Agents have a moral responsibility towards their clients and by satisfying them, agents will ensure that they will return to book with their company another year. And that is what marketing is all about. Marketing is not just concerned with selling more. It is also about regulating demand, and this applies particularly where the supply of a product is finite. In this example, the tourism agent’s role may be to counter-market the destination in the summer and try to switch demand to the off season to attempt to select market segments to increase the average spend. In that case it should be able to maintain the quality of the product at present level of consumption. The management of marketing is about the management of demand, and a marketing manager’s role is to stabilize demand levels. To be sustainable, tourism must protect the environment and ensure that the local populations at the destination derive direct benefit, in terms of income and employment, from visiting tourists. Since tourism is a product which must be purchased in advance of its consumption and since it must me described rather than demonstrated to consumers, many opportunities arise for unethical practice in the industry. The product may be oversold, or services promised that are not fulfilled. However, the days when companies and their brochures deliberately set out to mislead are now largely gone. The tourism product is a highly perishable one. If a television is not sold today it can be sold tomorrow, if necessary, at a reduced price. But a hotel room or an airline seat not sold today is lost forever. This fact is of great importance for marketing, particularly when determining pricing. Fluctuations in demand for tourism products are now commonly so extreme that survival has become the driving concern of travel companies throughout the world, and price has come to dominate the marketing mix. Combining marketing and tourism is essential especially since the two subject have been one of the main topics around the world.
