Unit 3 Responsible Tourism Marketing And Communications

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Picture source:... Unit outlineObjectives By the end of this unit, participants will be able to: • Describe the types of different dissem

UNIT 3 RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Picture source:

Unit outline

Objectives

By the end of this unit, participants will be able to:

• Describe the types of different dissemination channels for interaction with visitors

• Explain the importance of marketing and communicating about Responsible Tourism

• Explain the importance of authenticity and accuracy in marketing Responsible Tourism

• Identify the types of sustainability marketing messages that can be delivered to tourists

• Explain the importance of customer data protection

• Describe the communication channels for disseminating Responsible Tourism provisions

4. Maintaining data privacy in marketing

5. Collecting visitor feedback

4. Maintaining data privacy in marketing

5. Collecting visitor feedback

TOPIC 1 Importance of RESPONSIBLE MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS IN TOURISM

UNIT 3 RESPONSIBLE TOURISM MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Management process

Management process

Engages audiences

Presents messages Aims for attitudinal

or behavioural response

Aims for attitudinal

or behavioural response

The role and function of marketing and communications

The marketing and communications mix

Public relations

Personal selling

Promotions

Direct marketing Advertising

The “4P” marketing mix

Products in tourism marketing

• The goods and services that enable the tourism process

• The combination of products creates a visitor “experience”

• Common types of products include:

Pricing in tourism marketing

• Refers to the amount charged for a tourism product

• Cost of end product as well as at points along

distribution chain

• May be adjusted for different circumstances

• Regulated through conditions

• Amount should consider operating costs, profit margin

and distribution network costs

• Other influences include demand, seasonality, target

market, and competitors

Place in tourism marketing

• The link between the product and the consumer

• Considers where and how a consumer may make a purchase decision

• Direct or through distribution channels

• Choice of distribution depends on factors like:

Promotion in tourism marketing

• Aims to influence, inform, and / or persuade

• Usually a mix of:

The 5th P - Packaging

• Combines two or more products and /or services to:

holiday options (price advantage)

• Other consumer benefits include ease of payment and

planning and less stress

• Used to target specific markets and explore new ones

• Fosters partnerships building of tourism operators for

mutual benefit

Applying principles of responsibility to marketing and communication

• Respects law and good practice

• Decent and honest

• Respects fair competition

• Has sense of social responsibility

• Respects user privacy

SELL PRODUCTS FAIRLY INFORM ABOUT DESTINATIONS TRUTHFULLY

INFORM ABOUT DESTINATIONS TRUTHFULLY

RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY

RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY

3 key components of responsibility in tourism marketing and communications

Creates competitive advantage

Increases value and demand

Increases customer loyalty

Increases customer satisfaction

Facilitates more respectful interaction in destinations

Benefits of responsible tourism marketing and communication

TOPIC 2 communicating

authentic and accurate messages

UNIT 3 RESPONSIBLE TOURISM MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

TOURIST EXPERIENCE

TOURIST EXPERIENCE

Services

Interpretation Others?

Tourism experiences involve…

Demand

Motivation

Types of tourists

Authenticity INFLUENCES:

Authenticity in tourism experiences

• Travel to experience something unique or original

• Integrity can relate to a place, an

object or an activity

• While authenticity is perceived

it remains highly connected to

marketing tourism experiences

• Services nature of tourism and

component parts make marketing susceptible to inaccurate messages

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Examples of inauthentic advertising from around the world

Picture sources: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2128151/France-tourism-advertising-campaign-left-red-faced-allegations-using-false-photos.html

Testing the ethics of proposed marketing actions

Source: Laczniak, G.R & Murphy , P.E 1993, Ethical Marketing Decisions: The Higher Road, Allyn and Bacon, Needham Heights, MA, USA in Dunfee, T.W., Craig Smith, N and Ross, W.T 1999, ‘Social contracts and marketing ethics’, Journal of Marketing, 63(3): 14-32)

Commodification of culture

• The manufacturing and selling of culture for profit

• Response to fulfilling demand for perceived

authenticity

• May result in the loss of original meaning

• Imperative to ensure involvement and determination

of local people

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Redeveloping places to make them more attractive for tourist consumption

Creating staged and reshaped traditional performances for tourists

Adaptive reuse of historical buildings without interpretation

Sale and / or reproduction of artefacts of cultural or spiritual significance as

souvenirs

4 examples of cultural commodification in tourism

Picture sources: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelf2sea/6125215016/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kangeelu_Kunita.jpg\ http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremylim/4263274405/sizes/m/in/photostream/

• Sector’s intensity in resource use

• Largely unregulated nature of the sector

• Sector composition and competition

• Consumer demand

CAUSES

• Sector’s intensity in resource use

• Largely unregulated nature of the sector

• Sector composition and competition

Example 1

• A hotel chain claims to be environmentally friendly because

they allow guests to choose whether to sleep on the same

sheets and use the same towels for continuous days While

the idea is good it is not making a significant difference

More impact can be made by installing for example,

motion-sensor lighting, more efficient insulation and

heating, or purchasing non-toxic carpeting and bedding.

Example 1

• A hotel chain claims to be environmentally friendly because

they allow guests to choose whether to sleep on the same

sheets and use the same towels for continuous days While

the idea is good it is not making a significant difference

More impact can be made by installing for example,

motion-sensor lighting, more efficient insulation and

heating, or purchasing non-toxic carpeting and bedding.

Example 2

• A well-known international fast food restaurant chain tried

to paint itself as ‘green’ just because it had begun to use biofuel made from leftover grease in its fleet of trucks as well as using recycled paper in its takeaway bags However the company still uses beef grazed on deforested land in South America, and bases its entire concept around disposable packaging.

Example 2

• A well-known international fast food restaurant chain tried

to paint itself as ‘green’ just because it had begun to use biofuel made from leftover grease in its fleet of trucks as well as using recycled paper in its takeaway bags However the company still uses beef grazed on deforested land in South America, and bases its entire concept around disposable packaging.

Greenwashing is all around us but can be hard to spot

Source: Marie C 2013, ‘Misleading Marketing: Beware the Greenwash!’, Elux Magazine, Feb 12, 2013

The hid den tr ade -of

SIN 1

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SIN 2

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SIN 4

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Irre lev anc e

SIN 5

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Les ser of tw

o ev ils

SIN 6

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Fib bin g

SIN 7.

The “7 Sins” of tourism promotion

Source: Kuehnel J 2011, ‘Greenwashing in the Travel and Tourism Industry’, Toronto Sustainability Series, Available [online]:

http://ecoopportunity.net/2011/05/greenwashing-in-the-travel-and-tourism-industry/2/, Accessed: 21/01/2014

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Steps to identifying and communicating authenticity in marketing

1 2 3 4

TOPIC 3 marketing and communicating sustainable practices

UNIT 3 RESPONSIBLE TOURISM MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

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Inform about sustainability

activities

Inform about sustainability

activities

Gain support in sustainability efforts

Gain

The function and purpose of marketing and communicating sustainable practices

Understand the market Identify objectives of sustainability

Key steps for communicating sustainability:

The “Keep it Real” approach

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4

Source: VisitEngland 2010, Keep it real – market and communicate your credentials,

London: VisitEngland and England’s Regional Sustainable Tourism Leads Group

Step 1 Understand the markets and customise sustainability messages

• While most consumers care it does not mean

they will act differently

• However, when everything else is equal,

sustainability values and actions diferentiate a

product

• Need to know attitudes of key market segments

and tailor sustainability messages accordingly

Characteristics of key market segments

Feelgood Switch off Ethical seakers

• Ethical seekers: Rational, International,

Interrogative, Willing to Pay

• Feel good factors: Emotional, Local,

Simplified, Unlikely to Pay

• Switch of: Irrelevant, Local or

International, Cynical, Won’t Pay

Source: VisitEngland 2010, Keep it real – market and communicate your credentials,

London: VisitEngland and England’s Regional Sustainable Tourism Leads Group

Symbolic representation of market segment size

Step 2 Identify objectives of sustainability communications

Picture sources: http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/images/London-1874-1885_i1314084682.php?type=tax_images&taxon=7&sort_order=asc&sort_key=year

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilovegreenland/10134146143/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Objective 1: Communicating sustainability to raise awareness and change

behaviour

• Give return benefits for

changing behaviour

motivational and positive

• Ensure communications are:

– Specific

– Demonstrate clear positive impacts of actions

– Explain customer benefits

– Present only sustainable options

Click to edit Master text styles

Objective 2: Communicating sustainability to let consumers feel good

• Consumers appreciate efforts regardless of motivation for

travel

• Show consumers how you have “taken care of” sustainable

issues which then allows them to relax and enjoy the benefits

• Promote easy sustainability options such as:

options, where to recycle etc.)

• Ensure sustainability options are ‘good’ choices with positive

impacts

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Objective 3: Communicating sustainability to increase visitation and / or sales

• Sustainability credentials create differentiation and help you

get noticed

• Sustainability can attract more customers and sales than

through raising prices

• Providing discounts or additional benefits for behaving

sustainably can gain loyalty and sales

• Design sustainable packages for low season and new

services for high season

• Provide sustainable options to encourage customers to stay

longer or come back during the low season

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Step 3 Develop appropriate messages and communication channels

• Common mistakes in communicating messages of

sustainability:

desired response from the consumer

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Key methods in efectively communicating sustainability messages

Key communication channels for sustainability messages

• Thread messages throughout the current communication channel & examine new

opportunities

• In particular, the following channels should be considered:

Step 4 Communicating messages

at the right time

TOPIC 4 maintaining

data privacy in marketing

UNIT 3 RESPONSIBLE TOURISM MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

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The role and importance of good data management

• Data is needed in order to carry out and regulate business

• Good data management refers to the maintenance of privacy

in the collection, storage and use of personal data

• Good data management is important:

reputational challenges due to bad practice

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What type of data in tourism needs protection?

Ensuring data is collected in the right way

• Data should only be collected if:

organisation is in

can be demonstrated

• Good practice in collecting data:

marketing or other purposes

purpose of collecting data and its usage

in application forms / contracts

bank or credit card details

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Ensuring data is managed in the

right way in marketing

• Keep personal information secure

• Ensure data is up-to-date

• Ensure data is stored according

to purpose of collection

• Allow opt-in or opt-out of marketing

• Retain opt-out requests for assurance

Vietnamese Law on Protection of Consumers’ Rights & Decree No 99/2011/ND-CP

Sending marketing information

TOPIC 5 collecting visitor feedback

UNIT 3 RESPONSIBLE TOURISM MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Picture source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurgenappelo/5201223017/

The role and importance of obtaining regular visitor feedback

• Crucial to improving businesses and

the tourism industry as a whole

• Enables organisations and

destinations:

most of them

• For business it is also helps prevent issues that can lead to complaints

Picture source:

Methods for collecting visitor feedback

A Collecting visitor feedback through surveys

• Set of predetermined questions about specific topics

• Often used to gauge customer satisfaction after the use of a

product or service

• Good for benchmarking performance

• Enable businesses to align their services to the expectations and

needs of visitors

• Can be online, by phone, mail or face to face

• Best to repeat visitor satisfaction surveys at least every 3-4 years

(minimum)

Potential types of information to collect in a satisfaction survey

Tips to writing efective survey questions

B Collecting visitor feedback through focus groups

• Open discussion of a small

group of people led by a

Developing efective focus group questions

Characteristics of questions Types of questions

Source: Duke University 2005, Guidelines for Conducting a Focus Group, Duke University, USA,

1. Engagement questions: introduce participants

to the topic of discussion

2. Exploration questions: get to the core of the

discussion

3. Exit question: check to see if anything was

missed in the discussion

1. Engagement questions: introduce participants

to the topic of discussion

2. Exploration questions: get to the core of the

discussion

3. Exit question: check to see if anything was

missed in the discussion

• Short and direct

• ‰Focused on one dimension each

Example of basic questions for a focus group on visitor satisfaction of a destination

ENGAGEMENT QUESTIONS

3.What motivated you to visit the destination?

4.How did you find out about the destination?

5.What was your experience in organising travel arrangements?

EXPLORATION QUESTIONS

6.What were the best things you saw or experienced in the destination?

7.What were the most disappointing aspects of your holiday in the destination?

8.How do you feel about the standard of service and quality of the attractions in the destination?

9.How well did the holiday represent good value for money?

EXIT QUESTION

8.Would you recommend the destination to family and friends?

9.Is there anything else you would like to say about your holiday in the destination?

ENGAGEMENT QUESTIONS

EXPLORATION QUESTIONS

EXIT QUESTION