Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Political
-
e.g.
international,
central/local
FOCUS ON INDUSTRY
government and European Union policy on travel
and tourism, taxation, local authority constraints,
regional development, legislation, regulation/
deregulation. A good example is the introduction
of the latest phase of the Disability Discrimination
Act legislation and its impact on access to tourism
businesses;
MARKETING CENTER PARCS
Center Parcs is one of the most successful travel and
tourism companies in the UK. It currently operates
four villages - at Sherwood Forest, Longleat,
Eleveden Forest and Oasis Whinfall in the Lake
District - and has very high year-round occupancy
levels. It is developing a fi fth site at Woburn in
Bedfordshire. Its target market is ABC1 families with
young children, young professionals and 'empty
nesters'. The main aim of the company's marketing
department is to identify and satisfy guests' needs
and demands for their short-break holiday. Guest
questionnaires are provided in each villa to provide
valuable feedback on customers' experiences. It
allows the management of Center Parcs to assess
the success of village operations and consequently
plan developments and marketing activities at each
village with an integrated approach to enhance the
Center Parcs brand.
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Economic - e.g. global recession, disposable
incomes, exchange rates, interest rates, cost of oil,
infl ation, levels of unemployment. The recent rise in
the price of crude oil and its impact on the cost of
air travel is a good example of an economic factor;
•
Social - e.g. demographic trends, lifestyle changes,
community involvement, education, changing
work practices, holiday entitlement, retirement,
environmental awareness. A good example is the
ageing of the population and the opportunity
it offers holiday companies to sell to a growing
market;
•
Technological - global communications, the internet,
reservations systems, payment methods, transport
developments. The introduction of e-ticketing by
airlines is a good example of a technological factor
in travel and tourism.
The Center Parcs experience is marketed via an
annual brochure, its website and advertising. The
company's television campaign is timed to support
the brochure mailing in September with a heavy
emphasis in January, a key period for planning
holidays. The company has its own in-house
Reservations Department, which deals with both
bookings and brochure requests. The computerised
reservations system can handle up to 5,000 calls per
day.
Direct marketing is becoming increasingly important
to Center Parcs as its number of repeat visitors
grows. Communication with its guests takes many
forms, e.g. booking incentives during off-peak
periods, informing guests of village improvements
and encouraging repeat bookings. The company's
database provides a foundation for all strategic
marketing activities and, by using customer profi ling
tools such as geodemographics (linking particular
customer profi les with different parts of the country)
and customer lifetime values, its marketing process
can be carried out with greater precision.
Self-service check-in is being introduced in more
UK airports
