Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Introduction
Scott McCabe
A few years ago, many tourism developers might have been pardoned for thinking that tourism
demand was likely to grow almost continuously and that all they had to do was provide the
facilities and tourists would fl ock in. . . Today, the stagnant world economy, the hugely increased
price of energy and fl uctuating exchange rates mean that there are no longer any certainties about
tourism's growth. Countries, tourism resorts and individual hotels are having to work much harder
to fi ll their beds.
Does this mean that new tourism developments should be discouraged? No, it does not! But it
does mean that more resources will be needed for marketing the development throughout its life.
If a project is sensibly conceived and adequate marketing budgets are provided, I fi rmly believe
new tourism projects can gain a share of the tourism pie, because marketing works!
(Bonnett 1982: 242)
Introduction
Reading this quote now, it is hard to believe that Bonnett was not writing in the present. Not
only does the global context outlined resonate so clearly with the current challenges of the
global economy, but also, the marketing sentiments don't appear so much different from those
that continue to drive the tourism industry. What Bonnett's article does not capture is the sense
of fl ux that pervades the fi eld of marketing theory and practice in the current era. Marketing is
undergoing a period of great transformation in thought and practice and tourism marketing
shares this sense of uncertainty about its future.
Tourists are becoming increasingly sophisticated and knowledgeable. They seem perfectly
happy and capable of creating their own itineraries and managing their own tourist experiences.
Technology has rendered information search and travel booking processes convenient, cheap and
fl exible. The digital era has transformed social relations, making it simple for people to create
and maintain social bonds with strangers and friends in far-away places. Media habits are also
being transformed, to the extent that it is no longer clear whether marketing is having any effects
on consumers at all. The old certainties are peeling away one by one. Marketing is in danger of
losing its way, senior executives are asking about marketing's relevance to the bottom line, when
budgets are being squeezed from every direction.
