The International Tourist Destination Tourism Essay

The International Tourist Destination touristry EssayTourism after p dodge be traced back to centuries but because the elements of the product and conditions of the market place perplex changed so enormously in the last fewer decades thither has been a corresponding requirement for a change in the business methods. This has have to the use of touring carry swop. Tourism industry over the last few years has had an accelerated growth.Destinations come in all shapes and sizes and can be found in variety of geographical settings such(prenominal) as in urban, rural and coastal environment. Destinations can be a collection of countries or a district severalize, county or coastline. They can often be viewed in both a supply or demand context. Destinations be contentedness to artificial divides that ignore the needs of the consumer and the expectations of the holidaymaker.The supply sided definition of reference is a well-defined geographical ara which is understood by its c onsultor as a unique entity with a political and legislative modeling for tourism market and planning. (Buhalis, 2000) whereas the demand sided definition is a place towards which people last and where they choose to stay for a while in order to visualize certain features or characteristics. (Buhalis, 2000)This paper presents a theoretical framework of tragedy management in a end with the merchandise strategies in tourism. The initial part of the essay would discuss on general views on terms, marketing strategies and contingencys. The second part concentrates on marketing strategies of Kerala as a last and how marketing strategies can be used to mitigate negative impacts of disasters in a termination.IntroductionAll destinations agree similar characteristics. The success of a tourist destination depends on the quality of the basic essentials they offer to tourists videlicet haulages, amenities and accessibility (Holloway and Taylor 2006).Each and e precise get upat ion has to operate within a market environment. This environment is do up of different levels of influence that result affect the opportunities and the marketing decisions that need to be make. The conditions affecting competition and contestation in company markets, the values of stakeholder groups, the political, social, economical, social and technological changes of the wider environment.For a destination to be productive and stay ahead in the industry, the officials and stakeholders must rail and implement new strategies. As per Johnsons and Scholes (1993) dodge is the manoeuvreion and scope of an organization over the long term ideally which matches its resources to its changing environment and in different markets, customers or clients so as to meet the stakeholders expectations.Different drop dead companies hold up similar marketing strategies for a destination. Any company in-order to form a marketing dodge has to first understand the particular destinations streng ths, weakness, opportunities purchasable and threats. When talking about managing and marketing a tourist destination it is genuinely alpha to keep in mind the 15 Cs framework namely Complexity, Control, Change, Crisis, Communication, Complacency, Customers, Culture, Competition, Commodification, Creativity, Channels, Cyberspace, Consolidation, Collaboration (Fyall et all).Marketing MixTo make a successful marketing strategy sensation has to understand the 4 Ps of marketing pay heed in namely product, price, promotion and place. Kotler and Armstrong (2005) indicate that marketing mix is one of the key concepts in modern marketing theory. They defined marketing mix as the step of controllable, tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the rejoinder it wants in the target market. Firstly we would have a look at the 4 Ps of marketing mix.ProductThe effectiveness of planning the marketing mix depends as much on the ability to select the right field target marke t as on the skill in forge a product offer. It is really difficult to talk about a product (destination) as one complete entity hence to understand a product in a let on way McCarthy (1978) divided it into quatern different levels namely the core product, the facilitating product, supporting product and the augmented product. on with it comes, services offered and the quality of the product which differs according to the product and customer/ leaf nodes expectation. It is very important for an organisation to decide on the range of products to be offered to a particular target market. Brand name likewise plays a major(ip) role in the marketing of a product, a customer/guest travelling to a place may differ in scathe of preference, necessities. Apart from the customers point of view for a destination for which customers be impulsive to pay high amounts it is very important to maintain the standards of services and suffer customers basic necessities.People often purchase a familiar label as they are comfortable with familiar things. there are assumptions made by customers that a familiar brand would be reliable and of comely quality. An unknown brand often has limited chances. (Aaker, 1991 19)PriceThe pricing constitution selected for a product (destination) is often directly related to the performance of its approaching demand. Pricing decisions is often considered the hardest part of the marketing mix strategy.PromotionIt is a very important activity that tourists organisations or tourists board perform in order to influence potential customers. It is likewise important to influence trade contacts such as retail agents, suppliers and opinion formers such as journalists and travel critics. Advertising plays a major role in terms of promotion as it helps is changing attitudes and builds an image in the customers mind. Sales promotion is some other method which adds value to the product. Another method of promotion is personal sell where in a direct contact with the customer is established. evening there is a growing use of sponsorship and direct marketing which many organisations are using.Place/DistributionTourism is an intangible product hence no transfer of ownership takes place notwithstanding services are rented or consumed. A distribution system is the mix of channels used to pee access, or inwardness by which a tourism service is made available to the potential consumers of the product. thither has been a constant growth in the central reservation system and the global distribution system which has shrunk the man and has got the customer closer to the product.However later on Booms and Bitner (1981) argued that the marketing mix of four Ps is not comprehensive enough for the tourism and cordial reception industry, so they addedthree much than clauses which are people, physical evidence and process.Tourism as an industry is not only affected by disasters but likewise is a cause for disasters which in tu rn affect the tourists flow. electric shocks of Tourismstinting Impact of TourismTourism has been traditionally viewed as a great(p) force in promoting understanding among nations and within the national boundaries facilitating emotional integration. However, its economic importance is less crudely understood. It is only in the recent years, in particular the latter half of the 20th century that tourism has been recognized as an important catalyst for economic development. It is in terms of its constituent to employment generation, foreign exchange earnings, income generation and output growth that tourism has significant impact on the economy. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU 2002)Environmental Impact of TourismDifferent kinds of tourism activities affect the immanent and built environment. There is a complex interaction between tourism and the environment. Many studies have shown that tourism has an immense impact on the physical environment, and that little has been do to remedy or control the assault on the ecology. This is especially reprehensible in view of the fact that a major part of tourism depends on nature mountains, beaches, deserts, forests, wildlife, water bodies and the like. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU 2002)Socio-cultural Impact of TourismAmong the most debated issues pertaining to tourism are those related to the effects that tourists and the industry have on societies and cultures of local anaesthetic communities. A general argument is that tourism contributes to instauration-wide understanding and harmony. On the contrary, it has severely affected indigenous customs and ship canal of life in certain grimaces. Tourists are seldom well prompt for an foreignist encounter which is vastly different from their own. Their knowledge, in most cases, is cursory, that is glamorised images from shiny travel brochures, movies and similar material. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU 2002)Disaste rDisaster is a calamitous event which often leads to great damages which can be physical (affecting the nature and life) or can affect the business environment. (Oxford dictionary). Disasters are of two types namely Natural and Man-made disasters.Tourism has frequently been subjected to instinctive disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes for example Hurricane Katrina on the north central disconnect Coast of the USA in 2005, the tsunami in 2004 off the coast of Indonesia and earthquakes in Taiwan in 1999 and San Francisco in 1989. The immediate effect leads to destruction of the tourist infrastructure and fall in customer demands. In addition to direct effect, destinations may suffer long term damage by perceptions in travel-risk. The earths climate has drastically changed in recent times and is predicted to change in the future. Directly and indirectly tourism is influencing the climate by about 80% (Gossling et al., 2005).Tourism is not only susceptible to native d isasters it is also affected by celluloid disasters, such as outbreak of war, political unrest, act of terrorism for example political unrest in Libya, Terrorism attacks in Mumbai, India in 2007. Tourists generally perceive acts of terrorism to be higher risk than natural disasters when travelling. The perception of travel related risks have has changed during recent times as a result of change in the magnitude and frequency of the attacks.Kerala a major tourist destination in IndiaKerala, Gods own country is one of the favourite destinations for tourists in the world. It is situated on the south-western part of India with a coastline of 580km. It is celebrated for eco-tourism go-aheads and growing at a rate of 13.31%. In the year 2008, 23.57% of get tourists were from United Kingdom, France and Germany. USA accounted for 8.72% of total tourists visiting Kerala in the year 2008.Kerala became 50 must see places in the lifetime to visit (National Geographic Travel, 2004) and als o awarded in super brand award for 101 strongest brands in India by super brands India in the Year 2007. Tourism has emerged as the major tax income generating business to government of Kerala which has contributed almost 8% of the total employment directly and indirectly. The most important turning point in the state of Kerala was the private-public league to promote tourism in Kerala.Marketing of Kerala as a destinationBackwater is the major tourist attraction of Kerala, however enjoying beaches with Ayurvedha is also one of the major attractions for tourists today. The government of Kerala is now trying to brand the medical tourism initiative which is turning out to be a great success as loads of people from many different countries are travelling to Kerala for better health care. There is also an emphasis on traditional art forms like Kathakali, Theyyam, etc which are pulling interests of travellers interested in arts. Kerala tourism is focussed more towards mass media adverti sements and PR activities which help in attracting many tourists. Kerala also in terms of pricing is considered in a few of the loud places for tourists in India. Hence it is very clear that the 4 Ps of marketing mix Place, Product, Price, Promotions.Kerala as a destination is influenced by natural and man-made disasters both.It has been observed that over the past three decades the predominant style of tourism in the region has been based almost exclusively on the attraction of the climate and of beaches. International visitors simply like visiting the beach and visit the back waters, the government has had an economic commitment to make to satisfying international demand by providing a coastal tourism product (UNECLAC, 2003). However the coastal range is prone to direct and immediate risk as when we look back from the year 2000 there has been a lot of natural disasters such as Hurricanes, storms, Tsunami, Floods, etc.Similarly when we look at the man-made disasters the Indian Su b continent is very prone to it from the Kargil war in 1999 to different terrorism attacks in Parliament building (New delhi) in 2001 and the Taj Hotel onslaught (Mumbai) in 2008 or be it the global recession. All these affect the tourist flow in a particular destination.Strengths and WeaknessThere are a few weakness and many strengths of the above mentioned marketing strategy done by the government of Kerala. Firstly we would discuss weaknesses of the strategy followed by the strengths.WeaknessesThere is an inadequate infrastructure to match the expectations of the tourist who travel to Kerala which means limited number of hotels, restaurants and limited space. The government has tough airline policies such as keeping in mind Kerala does not have an international airport as one of the major informant of tourist revenue. There is no proper waste management system which can turn over cause for many natural disasters. There is a shortage of cash available for growth of tourism whi ch can often lead to ontogeny of tourists and can lead to many other man-made disasters which is very common in Goa now-a-days.StrengthsOne good thing about the government of Kerala is that they are smooth operators of law and order which helps in confronting any man-made disaster to happen. The people of Kerala are involved by the government in the tourism industry which leads to broader thinking and leads to development of knowledge of disaster management in the people. The quality of life also improves of the local people, it is also noted that Kerala is the only society in the world which has 100% literacy rate. The current marketing strategy promotes Kerala as a destination and has made such an image even if there is a miss happening in the country, tourists would still flow in considering Keralas law and order universe so rigid. In case of any natural disaster it is very obvious that it is a destination that can ascertain in one single days time. unconstipated during the T sunami, Kerala recovered itself very easily whereas other destinations adjoining Kerala took time to recover from the shock.ConclusionKerala tourism is one of the super brand in the world of tourism. But the government is currently focussing on mass media tools although it is being properly put together but the government should focus more on direct marketing as the major revenue generator is the domestic market. Direct marketing can be considered to be more effective for brand building and very cost efficient as compared to mass media promotions. Word of mouth is being considered one of the most important tool of marketing now-a-days. Apart from these strategies the government also can conduct events based campaigns keeping in mind the various festivals in the state itself like Pongal, famous boat race. Furthermore it can also be recommended that encouraging local people to participate in decision-making process, training the guides and the local people, appreciate people of differ ent profession and allocate special areas for the amicable co-existence, maintaining the control on the prices of goods and quality of services. The government should take extra travel and encourage private investors to invest and promote tourism in a destination which would in turn lead to improvements in the infrastructure of the destination which is one of the most important thing for a destination in order to attract more tourists.