Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Understand the factors inl uencing
marketing in travel and tourism
SECTION 1
Icebreaker
This unit focuses on the role that marketing plays in today's travel
an
d
tourism sector. Working by yourself, or in
small groups under the direction of your tutor, see how you get o
n
with the following tasks to help you make a start
on this unit:
•
Have a go at coming up with your own defi nition
o
f 'marketing';
•
Make a list of all the different ways that
a
n
a
med travel and tourism organisation, e.g. easyJet or Holiday Inn,
markets itself to customers;
•
How many different types of adv
e
rtising can you think of to do with travel and tourism?
•
Write down the reasons why travel and tourism companies carry out market research;
•
Can you think of some
r
easons why prices for holidays, fl ights and other travel products vary so much between
one company and a
no
ther, and at different times of the year?
•
What is a 'promoti
o
nal campaign' in travel and tourism?
•
Make a li
s
t of some ways that marketing in travel and tourism is likely to change in the future.
When y
o
u'
v
e fi nished, show your answers to your tutor and compare your answers with what other groups in your
class
h
ave written.
Marketing - background and
concepts
•
Flyers posted through our letterboxes;
•
Holiday adverts on websites;
•
Discounts and other special offers on fl ights and
We see examples of travel and tourism marketing
around us every day, such as:
holidays.
These are all part of marketing, which goes far beyond
just advertising and promotion, as you will learn when
you work through the rest of this unit. Before we
investigate the factors that affect marketing, it is worth
spending a little time investigating just what we mean
by 'marketing'.
•
Window displays in travel agencies;
•
Holiday adverts and travel articles in newspapers
and magazines;
•
Holiday promotions on packets of breakfast cereals
and drinks;
Dei nition of marketing
•
Interviewers asking us about our holiday likes and
dislikes;
A useful shorthand defi nition of marketing is that it is
about getting the right products to the right people
in the right place at the right time at the right price
•
Holiday programmes and channels selling holidays
on television;
