Define Tourism Marketing

Learn about tourism marketing efforts.

Marketing is how a business or organizations promotes its products and services. Tourism marketing directly relates to how the hospitality and tourism industry promotes the products and services it offers to tourists and travelers. While general marketing concepts apply to tourism marketing, there are also some specific modifications tourism industries make to adjust marketing efforts. The adjustments cater to the industry and the tourists to which the industry is marketing.

Marketing

According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), marketing goes beyond promoting and advertising the products and services a company is selling. The AMA says that marketing is a process--a process which requires extensive planning. Marketing requires companies promoting goods and services to learn about the tourists it is trying to attract and then create, price and promote goods and services that fill the needs of the audience.

Types

For the most part, the tourism industry involves the promotion of services related to recreational and tourist activities. Some examples of the services that are included in tourism marketing are transportation, accommodations, food, beverage and entertainment. Generally, a company using tourism marketing specializes in one aspect of tourism rather than several aspects of marketing. For example, a tourism company that offers water activities promotes its jet skis, surfboard and kiteboard rentals, but it is unlikely that the same company is also involved in and promoting food and beverage.

Geography

The primary difference between most industry marketing and tourism marketing is the distribution of the product or service. As part of marketing for general industries, distribution of the goods or services goes from the company to the customer. In the case of tourism marketing, the customers come to the business. For example, if a company sells hair care products, it is going to stock salon or store shelves in order to distribute the product to its consumers. A beach jet ski rental company, however, distributes its products when customers walk up to its location or kiosk on the beach.

Considerations

In order to overcome the distribution obstacle involved in tourism marketing, many tourism companies join forces in marketing efforts. For example, a travel agent may join forces with hotels, airlines and tour operator companies in the tourist spots and destinations the travel agent specializes in. This means that when a client comes to the travel agent, not only can the agent book the flight and hotel for the client, but they can also register the client to take a tour of the city they're visiting, reserve tickets for a local show entertainer and make reservations at the top restaurant in town.

Effects

The tourism industry is heavily regulated and effected by laws and government intervention. Laws and regulations can have a positive or a negative effect on tourism marketing. One example that can affect tourism marketing is building codes, which can prevent the construction of a new hotel or new entertainment facility. If building codes require renovation of an existing tourist attraction or facility, this may also cause the facility to change its prices or even change some of the options it offers at the facility.

References

• University of Michigan: Tourism Marketing