Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Know the marketing mix (the 4 Ps) of a
travel and tourism organisation
SECTION 2
of quality, availability,
f
eatures and benefi ts. The
place
component of t
h
e marketing mix refers both to the
location of th
e
villas and resorts in the tour operator's
programme and how the holidays are made available
to the public, i.e. either sold through a travel agent
o
r direct to the customer. The company must also be
sure to offer its holidays at a competitive
price
, giving
value for money regardless of the price paid. How the
tour operator
promotes
its products will depend on
a number of factors, such as its promotional budget,
whether it sells direct or through an agent, the size
of its operation and the type of customers it is trying
to attract.
The term 'marketing mix' is used to describe the key
marketing elements that an organisation has to address
in order to meet its customers needs and expectations.
It is one of the most important concepts in today's
travel and tourism sector and is commonly referred to
as the 'four Ps', namely:
•
Product;
•
Price;
•
Place;
•
Promotion.
Activity 5.4
Product
Price
Working in small groups, discuss how some of
the travel and tourism companies in your local
area (travel agencies, tourist attractions, tourist
information centres, coach companies, hoteliers,
etc.) put together their marketing mix. On a fl ipchart,
identify how their activities fall into each of the four
components of the marketing mix (product, place,
price, promotion).
Marketing mix
This activity is designed to provide evidence for P3.
Promotion
Place
Product
Fig 5.3 - The marketing mix in travel and tourism
Travel and tourism products are very different from
many other products that we buy and use. Even using
the term 'product' is rather misleading, since travel and
tourism is a service sector offering a variety of holiday
experiences and travel services, rather than providing
consumer goods such as cars, cookers or televisions.
In fact, travel and tourism is often thought of as a
sector that succeeds by 'selling dreams' - perhaps a
Caribbean cruise or a weekend break in Amsterdam -
but we still have to pay for it!
Just as the ingredients must be in the correct quantities
to make a successful cake, so the four elements of
the marketing mix must be in the right proportions
to make an organisation's marketing a success (see
Figure 5.3).
To see how the marketing mix works in practice, we can
look at an example of a small specialist tour operator
offering villa holidays to Majorca. To be successful,
the company must be sure that the
product
it is
offering meets its customers' requirements, in terms
