Assignment Code: BTMC-136/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: BTMC-136

Assignment Name: Tourism Marketing

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Assignment A

Answer the following in about 500 words each.

Q1) Discuss the different elements of Marketing Mix in brief.

Ans) Marketing Mix is a set of marketing tool or tactics, used to promote a product or services in the market and sell it. It is about positioning a product and deciding it to sell in the right place, at the right price and right time. The product will then be sold, according to marketing and promotional strategy. The components of the marketing mix consist of 4Ps Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. In the business sector, the marketing managers plan a marketing strategy taking into consideration all the 4Ps. However, nowadays, the marketing mix increasingly includes several other Ps for vital development.

Philip Kotler says that the "marketing mix" is "the set of marketing tools that the company uses to reach its marketing goals in the target market." The 4Ps of marketing are the product, the price, the place, and the people. The marketing mix is a great tool for making sure you have the right marketing strategy and putting it into action with good tactics. An important part of your overall marketing plan is figuring out the roles of your product, promotion, price, and place.

1. Product: This includes all of the decisions and actions that have to do with a product or service that has benefits that make the whole tourist experience possible.

2. Price: This is everything that has to do with the price that will be charged for the product or service.

3. Place: This includes all the decisions and tasks that have to do with how the product or service is sold.

4. Promotion: This is everything that has to do with getting the word out about the product or service.

Three more P's have been added to the list of services:

1. People: This includes all the decisions and actions that have to do with the people who are part of the service delivery process and how customers and service providers interact with each other.

2. Process: This is everything that has to do with how the service is delivered. It includes all the decisions and actions that have to do with the procedures and tools used by the service provider.

3. Physical Evidence: This is everything that has to do with the space and environment where the service takes place.

In addition to these 7 P's, which we've already talked about, Kotler and Keller added the following P's, which are also part of modern marketing.

1. Programs: These are all the consumer-directed activities that aren't part of the traditional marketing mix that are decided by the customer. Keeping in mind that marketing is becoming more digital, it includes all activities, online and off, that are aimed at consumers.

2. Performance: This P is a catch-all for all the different ways that marketing activities can turn out. This includes both the financial and non-financial effects of marketing decisions and programmes.

Q2) Define Target Marketing. Explain the process of Target Marketing with the help of suitable examples.

Ans) A tourism target market is a group of customers with similar needs or traits that a business decides to serve. After the market has been divided up in a methodical way, marketers need to focus on the right market to which they can sell their products and who will respond well to their marketing strategies. During the process of choosing a target market, the following things must be taken into account.

A Review of the Segment

1. The organisation needs to evaluate the potential of each segment based on how much money it could make in the future.

2. Evaluating has to be done based on how much money is available to the organisation.

3. The segment has to be evaluated based on how much work the organisation has to do to market the chosen segment well.

4. The evaluation has to look at the segments that are very current and won't have much competition in the future.

Choosing the Segment

Once the organisation has looked at the different market segments and decided which one is best, it should choose that segment. Since there is a lot of competition, marketers need to find new ways to reach out to customers. Let's look at how to choose a part of the market.

Concentration on a Single Segment

In this case, the marketer chooses a single segment. The good thing about choosing this single target market is that it could lead to higher sales because all of the marketing efforts are focused on one segment and the product is improved to fit the needs of the customers. On the other hand, if people in the Z generation stop buying the product, the company will have to deal with the loss.

Selective Specialisation

This is when a company focuses on a small number of market segments and tries to meet their needs. If the organisation had picked more age-based segments for the X generation, the Y generation, and the Z generation for adventure tours in Himachal Pradesh. Here, even if one target market loses its appeal, the business can focus on the other to reduce the risk of losing money.

Specialization of Products

 This is when a company develops and focuses on a single product for different market segments.

If the organisation only offers white-water rafting as an adventure sport and has chosen more segments based on demographics (age) for the X generation, the Y generation, and the Z generation for adventure tours in Himachal Pradesh. The company will get a good name and also make a lot of money. But if a competitor chooses the same product, like white water rafting, but with more advanced technology, the company's product could be completely replaced, causing the company to lose money.

Full Market Coverage

In this case, the company goes after the whole market instead of just a small part of it. Here no segment is left untargeted. For example, if an organisation has made a product for adventure tourism, like white-water rafting, it chooses all of its segments based on demographics, psychology, geography, behaviour, and other factors.

Assignment B

Answer the following questions in about 250 words each.

Q3) Discuss the importance of marketing with examples from the Tourism Industry.

Ans) Marketing is important for every travel and tourism business, including airlines, hotels, travel agencies, event management companies, destinations, attractions, souvenir shops, experiences, and communities. Marketing makes it easier for people to trade goods and services.  For example, a travel company in Uttarakhand has created a great community-based rural experience product. The travel agency will only be able to get tourists interested in the product if it has a good marketing campaign. Advertising and promotion are important parts of marketing because they bring buyers and sellers together and make it easier for them to trade. Marketing helps people understand what tourists want. they offer meets those needs. Marketing builds relationships.

Experts say that having loyal customers helps a business make money in the long run. Marketing is a very important part of building relationships with customers and keeping them loyal, which is what makes a business profitable and stable in the long run. Marketing helps come up with new ideas for businesses. Marketers get new ideas that can be turned into business opportunities through the marketing research process and feedback system. For example, Zomato is a new kind of service which uses an online platform to help small and medium-sized restaurants sell more food. Marketing improves a company's reputation.

For example, the Incredible India campaign by the Government of India's Ministry of Tourism helped to improve the image of India as a tourist destination around the world. Marketing leads to growth. Marketing is the key to long-term growth for any travel company or destination. Marketing makes sure a business will be around for a long time. Effective marketing helps the company keep coming up with new ideas, grow, and make enough money to stay in business for a long time. Planners of tourist destinations can encourage tourists to be more responsible by using good marketing strategies. Marketing helps the economy grow.

Q4) Explain the process of Personal Selling with suitable examples from the travel and tourism.

Ans) The steps a salesperson takes to sell a product or service to a potential customer are part of the Personal Selling process.

Step I: Prospecting

"Prospecting" is the first step in the process of making a personal sale. Prospecting means looking for possible customers, or people who are likely to buy the company's product or service.

Step II: Pre-Approach

As part of the pre-approach, you learn about potential customers to prepare for the sales presentation. Before getting in touch with the prospect, the salesperson needs to do "homework" for this stage.

Step III: The Approach

The first time a salesperson talks to a potential customer is called the "approach."

At this point, the salesperson should be ready with a small talk to get the conversation off on a good note.

Step IV: Sales Presentation

During the sales presentation, the salesperson shows the product or service, talks about its features, and may even show how those features work.

Step V: Handling Objections

After hearing the sales pitch, the possible customer may have some questions or concerns. The salesperson should handle these questions or concerns with care.

Step VI: Closing

In this step, the salesperson should ask the customer to place an order to close the sale. At this point, the salesperson needs to know how the customer wants to close the deal.

Step VII: Follow-Up

In this step, the salesperson follows up with the customer to make sure they are happy with the product or service. If there are any problems, the salesperson will take care of them.

Q5) Discuss the internal and external factors that influence pricing.

Ans) Factors influencing the pricing of a product:

Internal Factors

1. Cost of the Product: Cost, then, includes all of the costs that a manufacturer or service provider has to pay to get a product or service ready for the market.

2. Organizational Goals and Objectives: Pricing strategies are employed and modified to meet the organisational goals and objectives from time to time.

3. Image of the Firm: The main idea behind this pricing policy is that most people think that higher prices mean better quality.

4. Product Life Cycle: Since it first hit the market, a product goes through different stages. We already know that these life stages are marked by different changes in the marketing mix decisions.

5. Channels of Distribution: The cost of distributing something tends to go up the longer and more people are involved in the process. This makes the price go up.

External factors

1. Value Perception: Value perception is how consumers feel about how useful or useful a product or service is in relation to how much they paid for it. Most of the time, consumers weigh the price they pay against the value they get in return. So, it is said that companies sell the benefits and value of their products.

2. Competition: When setting prices, companies often think about how many competitors they have and how much competition they face.

3. Government Control: In some industries and under certain conditions, the government decides to step in and control the prices of goods and services.

4. Economic Conditions: Conditions that cause inflation or deflation affect how people feel about buying in general. When a country's economy changes, it tends to affect the travel and tourism industries more quickly than other industries.

5. Currency Rates: Changes in currency rates happen around the world because of international trade and other economic factors. Changes in the exchange rates affect the prices of goods and services.

Assignment C

Answer the following questions in about 100 words each.

Q6) Define Positioning. What are the methods of positioning?

Ans) Positioning is the idea of associating and building a mental image of a brand and its products and services in the minds of the public. Positioning a brand or product is a strategic process that involves marketing the brand or product in a certain way to create and establish an image or identity in the minds of consumers in the target market.

Different ways of putting things in place can be grouped as:

1. Attribute Positioning/Customer Benefits

2. Product Benefit Positioning

3. Quality/Price Positioning:

4. Use/Application Positioning:

5. Positioning for the User:

6. Positioning by Product Class

7. Positioning against competitors

8. rigin Positioning

Q7) What is the need and importance of Market Segmentation?

Ans) Market segmentation is one of the most important ways for a business to do business. It helps the organisation understand what the customer wants, what opportunities are on the market, how to grow the market, how to run a marketing campaign, how to make new products, what the brand stands for, and how to set prices. Market Segmentation helps to serve a customer’s needs and wants. It helps in market competitiveness. Market segmentation helps in market expansion. It also helps to improve marketing campaigns and product development. Market Segmentation helps in specifying brand identity. It helps in improving business strategies related to pricing.

Q8) Explain the Tourism Product Life Cycle with examples.

Ans) Tourism Product Life Cycle as follows:

1. Tourism Product Introduction: During the introduction stage, a tourism product is first put on the market and shown to customers. An example of this stage would be a newly opened resort or theme park.

2. Tourism Product Growth: Product awareness and sales increase throughout growth. The 1980s and 1990s saw substantial Caribbean tourism boom. 

3. Tourism Product Maturity: Over time, the tourism product and organisation increase the most in sales volume. For decades, tourists have visited the Great Barrier Reef, which has matured.

4. Tourism Product Rejuvenation/Decline: Tourism product maturity is the hardest stage. Despite selling well, the product is still vulnerable to competition. The passenger ship industry declined in the 20th century due to air travel.

Q9) Discuss the role of social media as a marketing tool.

Ans) Social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc. People all over the world use them because they are easy to use.

Consumers use social networking sites to plan their trips, find out more about hotels, restaurants, and airlines, and share their own experiences with those places. This kind of user-generated content is seen as more credible and real by the online community, and many hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions lose a lot of business if they aren't in the top five.

For example, TripAdvisor is an American online travel company that runs a website and mobile app with user-generated content, a website that lets people compare prices, and a website where people can book transportation, lodging, travel experiences, and restaurants online.

Q10) Write short notes on any two of the followings.

a) Research Approach

Ans) Quantitative research paradigm and qualitative research paradigm are the most important ones. Quantitative research tries to figure out what caused something, while qualitative research tries to figure out what something is by exploring it. The quantitative approach tries to find facts about social phenomena by assuming that reality is fixed and measurable. The qualitative approach, on the other hand, tries to understand human behaviour from the point of view of the informant and assumes that reality is dynamic and negotiated.

c) Destination Marketing

Ans) Destination marketing is about working with key players to spread the word about a place so that more people know about it and become interested enough to go there. It's about coming up with creative ways to tell people what your destination has to offer, giving them a reason to visit your destination. Rising customer expectations and more competition between destinations are driving up the need for destination marketing. Statistics show that tourism is one of the top five export categories for as many as 83% of countries and the main source of foreign exchange earnings for at least 38% of countries.