Report Tourism Marketing

Tourism in Auckland – one of the best city in the world has been growing rapidly in recent years. This paper will focus on defining market segment as well as compose a professional marketing plan and strategy for new tourism product – Kiwi farm tour in order to meet the demand of the international student in Auckland as they do not have enough condition to travel far from the city.

I Introduction

Tourism in Auckland – one of the best city in the world [ CITATION Lov13 \l 1033 ], has been growing rapidly in recent years This paper will focus on defining market segment as well as compose a professional marketing plan and strategy for new tourism product – Kiwi farm tour in order to meet the demand of the international student in Auckland as they do not have enough condition to travel far from the city

II Discussion of Findings

This paper has been divided into three parts, it includes a general description of the Kiwi farm tour and its service offered, a statement of the marketing situation and competitive market as well

To some extent, the first section of this paper will examines a brief overview of the Kiwi farm tour and its four levels of product This tour will be launched in Auckland, organized with several areas

1 Level of product

a) Core product

It is necessary to make a distinction among four groups of services, including the core, facilitating, supporting, and augmented product The core product is what the buyer really buys [CITATION Phi14 \l 1033 ], refers to the use, benefit, or problem solving service that the consumer is really buying when purchasing the product

The Kiwi farm tour provides a wide variety of activities for example: feeding and touching the animal such as sheep, cow, goat as well as pick the healthy fresh fruit from the farm In general, the core product sought by visitor might be the opportunity to relax with friends, playing with animal and enjoying fresh fruit Tourist not only take part in interesting experience, but also having an opportunity to study about local farm lifestyle and wool production

b) Supporting product

In order to compete with rival’s product, supporting products are offered to add value to the core product [ CITATION Phi14 \l 1033 ] In case of Kiwi Farm Tour, the extra service offered might be a breakfast or small meal as the visitor can taste the fresh farm eggs, sweet fruits or give them a beanie wool hat, gloves with the brand logo of the farm tour as a gift c) Facilitating product

Compare to supporting products, facilitating products are compulsory, the service will be disrupted if it disappears but supporting products are not Supporting product just used as a competitive tool and if it lost, the core product still actives, however in a less attractive way [CITATION Man \l 1033 ] In fact, facilitating products are goods which must be present for the guest to use the core product

Once the core product has been indicated, the facilitating product becomes important because this kind of services must be presented for customer to use core product It is the physical object we buy, including the features, design, quality and packaging of the product

as an additional tangible benefit For a farm trip, the tangible elements include the tour itself, the environment, the animal and fruit farm Moreover, the most important facilitating product is the transportation, there is a shuttle bus which carrying visitor from their home to the farm

d) Augmented product

The last level of product is type of additional services and benefits that improve the consumer experience of tourist, called augmented product From the figure 1, there can be seen that, it is not the core elements that the customer is buying, but they help to make the experience more satisfying and enjoyable and its relevant to three basic concepts: accessibility of the service, interaction with the service organization, and consumer participation Augmented products can be tangible or intangible, such as facilities for the disabled, lockers etc

Figure 1 The Augmented Service Offering [ CITATION Man \l 1033 ].

Last but not least, one of the most distinctive advantages in this tour is taking photo with the animal, have a chance to sheep shearing, milk a cow and pick the fruit on the tree That kind

of augmented service is a wide-spread effect of creating atmosphere, attention-creating, mood-creating medium and in this joining stage, visitors are interacting with the organizers

as well as other visitors

2 Situational analysis: External Operating Environment

2.1 PESTLE analysis

The outside factors and forces that affect a company’s ability to develop and maintain successful transactions with its target customers [CITATION Phi14 \l 1033 ]

a) Political/Legal

One of the most crucial components that affect trade or economical activity is legal rule, government regulation New Zealand is a politically-stable and also considered as a safe place to invest and do business.[ CITATION Inv14 \l 1033 ] Regarding to the

foreigner student as a target market, New Zealand government has changed some policies to attract more student, reflect the importance of export education [ CITATION New13 \l 1033 ] Besides, the international student is strictly managed by government policies as well as education providers, student wants to study New Zealand have to show the evidence that they are bona fide students and have enough condition not only about financial issue but also health and characteristics In addition, from the October

2014, there is a change that full time international students are legally able to work part-time, up to 20 hours per week, and full-time during scheduled holidays.[ CITATION Stu14 \l 1033 ], that derived an advantages for student to earn more money for their oversea life

b) Economic

New Zealand is one of many countries that have experienced rapid growth in international student numbers in recent years.[ CITATION Sco07 \l 1033 ], contribute NZ$2.6 billion a year to the New Zealand economy [ CITATION New13 \l 1033 ] However, economic conditions are influenced by political and government policy Although new work right for international students also give them the opportunity to earn more money [CITATION Tan13 \l 1033 ], but the majority of international students unable to compete with domestic students in the labor market Moreover, international students pay approximately NZ$16,181,000 per year in tuition fees to study at a New Zealand University [ CITATION Edu08 \l 1033 ] Living costs in Auckland can amount to NZ$12,000 per year [ CITATION Abo14 \l 1033 ]

To some extend, cost of living in Auckland may be much higher than in a suburb [ CITATION Uni12 \l 1033 ], and there is not all of the international students are wealthy

as the perception of many people [ CITATION And14 \l 1033 ]

c) Social

The majority of oversea student in New Zealand comes from China, Malaysia, Korea, India and other Asian countries [ CITATION Tre14 \l 1033 ] which have different environment from New Zeland Travel to New Zealand give them the opportunity to study in one of the best education environment on over the world [CITATION Lad \l 1033 ] and also enjoy life

in one of the top country to travel worldwide [ CITATION Eri13 \l 1033 ] In relation with New Zealand unique natural attraction, the foreigner student certainly desires to experience authentic tourism to enhance the lives

d) Technological

Nowadays, the Internet is becoming a popular tool to interact with the world, and especially for foreigners, the Internet is an integral part of their life as some newly students do not know where to access the reliable information There is a lot of famous tourism website all over the world such as Tripadvisorcom, Lonely Planet that accessible for everyone In more detail, applying modern technology, other advertising via mobile phone, electric device puts New Zealand ahead of other national tourist campaigns 100% Pure New Zealand is well linked with the website www.newzealand.com, Google Earth and You Tube also bring a lot

of benefit for New Zealand tourism [ CITATION Sto14 \l 1033 ]

e) Environmental

100% Pure New Zealand tell the story of how this country's unique combination of landscapes, people and activities cannot be found anywhere else in the world It’s fair to say many New Zealand attractions are of the “ natural” kind [ CITATION Att \l 1033 ] Generally, in the expansion of urbanization, farm trip is the best type of tour for young people to raise their knowledge about the sustainable environment

2.2 Tourist numbers and forecasts

The tourism industry in Auckland is well established, and several years of positive growth reflect the country's very strong long-term investment environment The rising of international students may add to overcrowding in the city, but they also indirectly contribute to travel industry Currently, it was found that the Asian economies are growing and a number of emerging economies like Malaysia, India and Indonesia are showing rapid growth as well [ CITATION Bir13 \l 1033 ] Interestingly, as mentioned previously, the number of students come from those countries also increase; so there is a positive trend that the international student will travel more, especially in Auckland

2.3 Industry trends

As the increasing of investment in the international student [ CITATION New141 \l 1033 ], a large number of students will become a potential source for tourism industry

2.4 Competitive Environment

In terms of definition, direct competitors are examined as two companies offer the same product and target same clients or doing the same advertising

In contrast, indirect competitors in the business world are those businesses that don't necessarily sell the same products, but offer different alternatives to satisfying the same customer need As a result, even though those companies might not be directly competing with each other in the same industry, they still may impact each other

A deep understanding of competition, both existing and potential, will be necessary for a successful marketing plan This section of the marketing plan should include a brief description of competitors together with a brief description of external issues that are relevant to the market Competitors will be described in detail in the competitor and issues analysis of the marketing plan

Direct

competitors

Location Specialised

Facilities

SheepWorld

Farm & Nature

Park,

76 Muriwai Valley Road Waimauku Auckland Central

Sheepworld Café,

Products

Sheep & Dog Show

Adults (14yrs+)

$27.00 Seniors

$23.00 Children (4yrs-13yrs)

$10.00

encounters

farm

experience

874 Tuakau Bridge -Port

Waikato Road Te Kohanga RD3 Tuakau Port Waikato Auckland

Food available for feeding the animals ( include in the price )

Feeding, milking cows

$15/ adult,

$10/ child

Indirect

competitors

Location Spelised facility Activities Price

Spectacular

Auckland Tour

Auckland Air conditioned

coach

Sight-seeing NZ$130 per

adult & NZ$65 per child

Auckland City

Highlights and

Island Wine

Auckland Board the ferry to

Waiheke Island

Tasting the wine, Parnell Rise - a popular

shopping area, Mission Bay, Tamaki Drive (along the

Waterfront)

NZ$180 per adult

Auckland

Wilderness

Experience

Auckland Inner city pick up

and refreshments

Sight-seeing, exporing

NZ$145 per adult & NZ$72.50 per child

3 Market analysis (market segmentation)

a) Define market segmentation

Market segment separating a market into smaller groups in an attempt to facilitate more cost-effective marketing through the formulation, promotion and delivery of purpose-designed products that satisfy the identified needs of target groups [ CITATION Mid02 \l

1033 ]

Typically, the conducted information relates to who is affected and how they are affected, identifying the specific needs and wants of the customer and as a result, the planning and strategies that might be produce the desired outcomes; therefore, analysis the market segmentation aimed to target products at the right customers

b) Customer profiles

Geographical

The main target market is the international student in Auckland because most of them do not have a car to travel far from the city

Demographic

Geographic

Local

Demograph All ages, both

genders, middle income, all level of education

Psychographic Dynamic &

free lifestye, outgoing, enthusiastic, explorative, eco-tourist

Behavioural

Ambitious, Active, Faithful, Excitable

This method classifies the visitors based upon their demographic characteristics such as age, gender, income and education level The information is useful for organizer to design and provide suitable facilities and services for the visitor groups

Psychographic

Marketers need to understand the target visitors’ demand, such as whether the visitors prefer adventurous or low-energy activities The farm tour needs tourist who wants to explore about the ecotourism

Behavioural

This one classifies the visitors based upon their relationship with a particular product For example, whether the visitor is a first-time user or the type of experience

c) Target markets

It is recognized that international student is a potential market, but, for every student that visits a theme park, there will usually be at least one friend may be domestic or international

as well

Finally, although Kiwi farm trip is great for students, it still depends on their personal timetable as this kind of tour will be organized on the weekend or holiday

III Conclusion

Nowadays, the uniqueness of the New Zealand’s natural environment include the farm tours

as a part of rural tourism are the key issue to sustain the tourism development Many years ago, even though the majority of visitors participate in farm trip were domestic [ CITATION War98 \l 1033 ], recently there’s been the trend that the concept of farm tourism is becoming more broader to international visitor who come from the developing country

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