Tourism Marketing - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 417

INTRODUCTION

T The explosive growth of the Internet and mobile media technology has impacted how tourists make

travel decisions and provided new tools and media for tourism marketing. The Internet helps
people be more socially connected than ever before. Online social networks, social media, user-
generated media, and e-commerce dominate the tourism marketing scene today. Phones are
computers, Web sites offer tourism products and services, and sites such as TripAdvisor allow
consumers to report on their travel experiences providing reviews and photos. It has been estimated
that 80 percent of consumers have used the Internet in trip planning and today over 50 percent of
travel is booked online. The impact of the Internet is pervasive, affecting all components of the four
Ps of marketing — product, place, promotion, and price.

In today ' is marketplace, it is all about customer engagement and at the top of the list is social

media . The sites and tools that need to be in a marketing plan today include blogs, wikis, widgets,

tweets, mashups, photos, videos, podcasts, RSS feeds, pro le pages on such sites as Facebook and
MySpace, live chat/instant messaging, user-generated visual content, user ratings and rankings, and
user comments and reviews. The U.S. National Science Foundation estimated there were 1.67 billion
Internet users in 2010 and that this will grow to 5 billion in 2020. 1 Thus, tomorrow s tourism industry

will be even more embedded in the Internet, playing an active role online and in social media to
enhance all the traditional marketing activities and bring them to a new level. We will see continuous
evolution of technology creating new tools, ideas, and marketing methods.

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WHAT IS MARKETING?

Marketing has been de ned in a variety of ways. The American Marketing Association de nes it as ''an
organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to
customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that bene t the organization and its
stakeholders.

2 Others have stated that marketing is the delivery of the standard of living to society.
You are no doubt acquainted with the old adage,

''

''
Most people have little idea what marketing is all about and would probably say that it has
something to do with selling or advertising. However, marketing is a very broad concept, of which
advertising and selling are only two facets. Marketing is goal-oriented, strategic, and directed. It both
precedes and follows selling and advertising activities. Marketing is the total picture in getting goods
and services from the producer to the user.
Unfortunately, the term marketing often conjures up unfavorable images of used-car salespeople,
TV furniture advertisers, high-pressure selling, and gimmicks, leading to the perception of marketing in
terms of stereotypes. In fact, marketing plays a critical role in all organizations, whether they are
nonpro t educational institutions, tourist resorts, or manufacturers. The role of marketing is to match
the right product or service with the right market or audience.
Marketing is an inevitable aspect of tourism management. Marketing can be done effectively and
well, with sophistication, or it can be done poorly in a loud, crass, intrusive manner. The goal of this
chapter is to discuss the basic elements of marketing so that it can be done effectively, with style, and
with a favorable economic impact.

'' Nothing happens until somebody sells something.

MARKETING CONCEPT

The heart of good marketing management today is the marketing concept ,ora consumer

orientation . Tourism organizations that practice the marketing concept nd out what the consumer

wants and then produce a product that will satisfy those wants at a pro t. The marketing concept
requires that management thinking be directed toward pro ts rather than sales volume.