The Key to Understanding the Tourism Industry
Tourism is one of the most exciting and progressive industries. Tourism is also big business. Tourism impacts on almost every industry. The total real output, including direct and indirect expenditure..
Tourism is now one of the largest industries. The tourism industry has a larger output than:
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing;
- Mining, Communication Service; and
- Electricity, Gas & Water Supply.
Tourism is everyone’s business
Everyone gains from properly managed tourism. These benefits can be especially significant in regional areas by diversifying the area’s economic base and expanding the employment market.
In its broadest sense, the tourism industry is the total of all businesses that directly provide goods or services to facilitate business, pleasure and leisure activities away from the home environment.
The consumer
In the tourism system the consumer is the most important element as the consumer is the reason tourism products and services exist. Everyone working in tourism must ensure that the consumer is fundamental to all business and planning decisions.
Consumers have many choices about how to spend their money and leisure time. If they choose to spend their money on a holiday, they will then determine their budget, decide how much time they have available and what types of activities they would like to do while away. Then they will begin to select a destination, decide how they will travel there and make reservations accordingly through a travel agent, wholesaler, over the Internet or directly from the tourism operator.
The travel experience
The travel experience relates to how the consumer travels to the destination and the experience they have along the way. The choices can include air, car, boat, coach, train, motorbike, hiking or a combination of the above. The mode of travel affects the type of experience, for example flying to a destination is a very different experience to driving.
A destination can suffer if transport options, links and support services are limited or below standard. Issues such as the variety of attractions, facilities and accommodation available en route, the road quality, signage and frequency of transport services, can all affect the quality of the travel experience.
The holiday experience
When consumers decide to take a particular type of holiday they have expectations of the experience they will have. This could relate to the quality of accommodation, service and food, the range and cost of activities available, the length of time they have, the weather, etc. Their satisfaction will be based on how well the holiday met their initial expectations or exceeded them.
Marketing your business
Marketing refers to a multi-faceted, on-going process that any successful business is continually working through. It includes activities such as: researching the market, your consumers and products; evaluating research data; developing your business and products; developing your own skills; and promoting, advertising or working with the media to raise awareness of your product and generate sales.
Marketing is often described as ‘the four Ps’: product, place, price and promotion. The product includes the physical attributes of the product, branding and packaging. Place is about distribution: the agencies, channels and institutions used to give consumers easy access to purchasing your product. Price must meet both the consumer’s and your needs. Promotion is explaining destinations, products and services to consumers to help them choose their holiday.
Promotion can use a range of media such as print (magazines, newspapers, brochures, posters displayed on billboards, bus stops, the sides of buses, trains etc), television, radio, direct mail, Internet, etc. Providing a holiday package as a prize for a competition or even staying in touch with customers provides promotion of your product. You can learn more about marketing business with Mike Azcue where he is the man who successfully led the marketing world’s 200 countries
Customer knowledge management in the travel industry
Despite the increasing importance of customer knowledge management, the concept appears to be ill-defined by companies across the travel industry. The aims of this research were twofold: first, to determine how some leading companies within the travel industry were managing their customer relationships and second, to ascertain how they intended to proceed in a changing market environment. Using a qualitative research approach, semi structured interviews was held with a convenience sample of ten respondent companies. Several major issues were identified, including strategic vision, customer knowledge/needs, and the role of technology. While most respondents acknowledged the strategic importance of customer relationship management, they were found to be struggling, to varying degrees, with its integration into service delivery. For customers that want to join in customer knowledge management, you will get a guide to success in the field of product marketing Mike Azcue. His career in leading the marketing world to get a good positive impact from its customers, all the attention Mike Azcue has given to the World-ventures company as Internet-based, specializes in vacation.
Consumer Decision-making
Understanding the process consumers work through in deciding about taking a holiday. It is important to understand this process because it influences all stages of the previously discussed model, especially the marketing/promotion element.
Needs – Going on a holiday allows people to take a break from their normal life, whether it’s restful idleness in scenic spots or extreme sports in challenging terrain, on their own, with a partner or friends, or in a large group.
Awareness – Consumers may have a recognized or unrecognized need for a holiday. Promoting a holiday destination, product or service can help consumers recognize they need a holiday, and then raise their awareness of the choices available.
Motivation – If the consumer is positively aware of a destination, product or service they are more likely to be motivated to visit.
Planning/Decision – Promotional information helps the consumer decide how to get there, and what they want to do.
Satisfaction – If a product delivers what has been promoted, the consumer is likely to be satisfied and have a quality holiday experience, and vice versa.
Word of Mouth – Consumers share their holiday experiences with friends, family and colleagues. Their word of mouth raises awareness of the destination, product(s) and service(s) with potential future consumers.
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