Key Factors in a successful Marketing of a Tourism Package by Daniel Teklu

This article Tells you points that you need to consider in packaging a tourism product.Tour package components in relation to determinant factors like price are dicussed.
Marketing is a complicated and sometimes a mysterious activity. Even some writers like Baker say that it is both a "philosophy and a business function".

We need to see in to each aspects of marketing in order to come up with a tangible result. Marketing is a tool that helps to bring market and it should serve its purpose. In other words the original intent for the existence of marketing is to win customers. It should be employed in a way that would make it effective. Environments / conditions that work together with our marketing in order to bring a satisfying result have to be there.

One should never take for granted what the title of bulk mails often tell us.

"Use this or that marketing techniques and you would see a traffic surge just in a week's time, etc."

That kind of stuff is of limited use in the tourism industry. Marketing, in our industry demands a good deal of effort and time, more than what today's internet marketers want us to believe.

Today, I would like to talk about real factors that need to be taken in to consideration if we have to be successful in marketing our holiday packages. For better understanding, let's consider a particular tourism market available in a given period of time.

The demand for a given tourism package (product) is the relationship between the various components of the package and the determinants of those components.

Here we need to identify two things.

1. The components that make up a particular package. 2. The determinants of those components.

We are not going to name every component that make up a particular holiday package. But some of the common ones like entrance fees, accommodation and the guide's allowance could be mentioned.

What are the determinants?

1. The possible prices of each of these components. 2. The income of customers with in that market sect. 3. The prices of other closely related packages 4. The taste of the customers.

These determinants work for or against each component. In other words what happens to a particular determinant is directly proportional to the marketability of the whole package .As the cost, for example, of accommodation mounts the price of the whole package goes up as well and this might affect the market of the package as a whole.

A leading presence of particular tourism packages on the market could almost be useless unless they are organized in light of the above conditions.

Price

Price is one big factor / determinant that needs a careful consideration. It is closely tied with the income of holidaymakers. I prefer to take the Ethiopian conditions as an example. (Ethiopian tourist destinations are the ones on which my company markets.)

In the Ethiopian tourism package accommodation and transportation have always taken the lion's share of the package. Especially, due to the difficult road condition of the country and the resulting fast depreciation, vehicles are very expensive in Ethiopia. A tourist needs to pay an average of 130 USD per day for a 4WD Land Cruiser if he would like to visit the country by surface (which, of course, is more attractive and full of opportunities). Suppose the tourist wants a 10 days stay. It means he has to pay 1300 USD only for the vehicles.

One solution often practiced to reduce the cost of the vehicle is to visit in Groups. One land cruiser can seat two/three/four tourists depending up on the services and the seating capacity of the vehicle. If for example, tourists need a cook and guide service and the seating capacity of the vehicle is four, the car can take only two tourists and the cost of the vehicle would be divided in to two.

Even the above solution would never work when the tourist has a very limited budget. Our company is at the moment considering one solution proposed by a tourist ,which is trying to import 4WD vehicles with more than four/five seat capacity.

What I am trying to say is that we need to carefully study ways in which the price of costly package components could be reduced or be brought to an affordable level. The price of a package has come to an affordable level means that it would have a higher probability of being considered in the market.

Tourist income

Very much tied to the above determinant. Here the most important point is the ability to determine the income level of tourists with in a given market segment (which is a very difficult job to do) and trying to design the package in line with that.

Points that make this phase difficult could be:

Distance. This could be both psychological and physical. With today's information technology, the effect of time and distance barriers is being minimized. But still the effect of distance is largely felt .The longer the distance the lesser the chances of coming up with a valid research result concerning the income level of the tourists. Here we can easily comprehend that those that market to their local community would have an advantage over the rest of us who need to go a long way in researching the paying capacity of tourists and designing a product that fits with in that realm.

I believe today's internet technology has given the business community a vast opportunity. The solution proposed to this distance problem would be trying to make available our tourism product to tourist of every income level. One may ask how this is possible. It doesn't have to be 100% possible. A product designed to two income level tourists is much, much better than to only one income level tourists. And in order to do that , as I have tried to point out above, we need to find ways through which we can lower the cost of a component.(Example , importing vehicles with better seat capacity)

Capacity and time to make research. Capacity includes both financial and professional. Researching the income level of tourists with in a particular market sect demands a good deal of money and staff with professional capacity to do the researching. This might not be a good way for business establishments with a limited financial base.

Other Closely Related Packages.

Any business is run with in the boundaries of a specified arena of competition. Almost any tourism package would have a competition. This is one of the main reasons for a good deal of preparation in preparing package.

There is a competition imply that tourists/ holidaymakers have choices. This tells us again that price is not the only factor. When customers find the same package with in the same price range, they would shift to the quest for better service with in the same price range.

Thus one needs to study carefully the overall presentation of competing packages and make his /her package as competitive as possible in every respect.

Taste

"The aim of marketing is .to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits. and sells it self" (Drucker, 1973)

I hope that the writer of the above quote is not undermining the importance of promoting a package. I need to do something; I need to promote my package in order that it sells itself.But the above quote tells us one clear point. A successful marketing is customer-led and that it finds out what its potential customers want and develop products to meet their needs and wants. It is not about developing products and then trying to find customers for them. Promoting a package cannot solve the problems of products that people do not want. Therefore this customer -centered approach leads us to the point where we recognize marketing research as one of the most important factor for the success of any business establishment

About the Author

Daniel Teklu is the General manager of 13 Suns Tours (A company devouted to organising tours for those who wish to visit ethiopia). He is a proffetional in Tour Operation Management .