Transportation and travel management 9

Chapter 9

Group Liberty

Name Roll

Khadiza Noor 55

Cynthia Islam 101

Aaqib Md. Shatil 87

Zakia Shabnam Maria 27

Poly Talukdar 47

The product of individual producers

The hotel product is a 'bundle' which may be itemized

as :

1. Initial experience and reactions in selecting

from a brochure

2. Experience of the booking process

3. First impressions on entering hotel

4. Reception process on arrival

5. Standard of room and suite facilities

6. Checking out process

Components of the overall tourism

product

There are five main components in overall product

,which are:

1. Destination attractions

2. Destination facilities and services

3. Accessibility of the destination

4. Images and perceptions

5. Price to the customer


product

Destination attractions and environment

Natural: Landscape, seascape, beaches, climate

Built Attractions: Buildings and tourism infrastructure

including historic and modern architecture,

monuments

Cultural attractions: History and folklore, religion and

art, theatre

Social attractions: Way of life of resident or host

population, language and opportunities for social

encounters


product

Destination facilities and services

Accommodation units: hotels, apartments, villas,

farms, guesthouse

Restaurants, bars and cafes: Ranging from fast food

through to luxury restaurants

Transport at the destination

Sports/activity: Ski schools, sailing schools, golf

clubs

Retail outlets: Shops, tract agents, souvenirs

Other services: Hairdressing, information services,

equipment rental, tourism police


product

Accessibility of the destination

Infrastructure: Roads, airports, railways, seaports,

marinas

Equipment: Size, speed and range of public

transport public

Operational factors: Routes operated, frequency of

services, prices charged

Government regulations: The range of regulatory

controls over transport operations

Specific products-the producer's view:-

Marketing managers 'need to think about the product on three levels'(kotler:1984)

These three levels are:

*the core product, which is the essential service or benefit designed to satisfy the identified needs of target customer segments.

*the tangible product, which comprises all the forms of added value producers may build into their tangible product offers to make attractive to intended customers.

Historical Development

Origin of travel organization traced back to 1841 with

Thomas cook as pioneer

By 1845 Cook started operating longer overnight

tour

In 1871, Cook organized the first round the world

tour

Skiing was popularized in 1880s by Sir Henry Lunn

In 1930s coach tour operators introduced a new

dimension of tour

Role of packaging

Overall tourism product was introduced as a

package and defined in terms of five components:

1. Destination attractions

2. Destination facilities and services

3. Accessibility of the destination

4. Images and perceptions

5. Price to the customer

Defining inclusive tour and product

packages

Inclusive tour and product packages include

1. The nature of the product itself, which is always

a package

2. The business relation between the operator and

main product elements

3. Dominant method of distribution to the

customer

4. Nature of the product


packages

Product packages are:

Standardized, quality-controlled, repeatable offers

comprising two or more elements of transport,

accommodation, food, destination attractions, other

facilities and services.

Business relation between the operator and main

product elements

This consideration distinguishes between a category

of operators that conduct their business as

independent contractors, and a category owned by

or closely linked with producers.


packages

Distribution method:

Relates to the form of marketing used to sell the

package. Some operators specially those in the

producer rather than contractor category have a split

strategy.

Functions of tour operator

1. Overcoming the inherent inefficiencies in the

markets for leisure travel tourism

2. Ensuring product quality

3. Delivering price advantage

4. Facilitating and simplifying the process

The nature of the marketing task for tour

operators

For tour operators as for other producers in the

travel and tourism industry, it is appropriate to divide

the discussion of the marketing task between

strategic and tactical consideration.

Tactics are required to survive in a fiercely

competitive market place. The strategic dimensions

are nevertheless very important. Strategic

partnerships between the operators and airlines,

retailers and significantly, direct response tour

operation companies.

Strategic marketing

Five elements are noted in this section

1. Interpreting the strength and direction of change in

the external environment.

2. Strategic decisions on volume and pricing.

3. Choices of product

4. Positioning and image.

5. Choice and maintenance of distribution system.

Overcoming the inherent inefficiencies in the

markets for leisure travel tourism

The external environment

External influences are essentially powerful in their

implications for tour operators reflecting both the non

essential character of most leisure products and

international nature of much of the business. level of

wages and real income and impact of international

exchange-rate movements on prices. tour operators

have influenced and in turn been very much

influenced by the rapid introduction of new

information technology.

Strategic decisions on volume and pricing

For hotel visitor attractions and transport operators

annual decisions on capacity and average price

levels are essentially tactical decisions in the light of

previous strategic judgments and investment in

buildings and equipment.

The two decisions are of course closely related

because of the influences on pricing policy of what

the market will bear at any point in time.

Product/market portfolios

The third and related strategic consideration for

operators is concerned with the content and balance

of the product portfolio as represented in their

programmes. A product portfolio is a mix of

destinations. Accommodation types and range of

elements to be included in the product such as

excursions. To give two examples there was a

massive switch to self-catering apartments and

villas.

Positioning and image

Competition between tour operations has tended in

the last decade to focus primarily on price and on

product portfolios. Image and positioning although

not ignored have very clearly taken second place to

price competition.

This probably reflects the strong growth trends that

low prices stimulated in a highly price-elastic market.

Distribution

The fifth strategic issue to be noted in this section is that of distribution or providing access for customers. For all tour operators the cost of distribution is normally the largest item of their total marketing expenditure. A part from the basic variable costs of commission paid on sales there are heavy essentially fixed costs incurred in distribution including the printing and distribution of brochures.

Installing and maintaining computer links with retail outlets regular sales promotion and merchandising efforts to maintain display space and educational. A sales force may also required in the continuous process of motivating distributors in competitive conditions.

Tactical marketing

Strategic decisions will determine the product market portfolio the product images and positioning the capacity of the programme to be offered. The price range in the brochures and the structure of the distribution system to be used. All the four Ps are essentially strategic decisions and principal role for marketing tactics is to secure a continuous flow of booking for programme from the day it is offered for sale.

Because of the long lead times in getting a programmefrom initial planning to the point of sale and especially because competitors prices and the capacity of their programmes can not be known in advance.

Tactical responses are a function of the rate at which bookings are achieved over the selling period for each programme.

Tactical marketing

It is of course very much a matter of judgment as to when any additional promotion starts.

Consolidated flight lead to cancelled accommodation allocation and are understandably unpopular among customer as well as hoteliers.

The operators link with retailers especially where on-line computers can be used to communicate.

Sets out a deliberately broad view of marketing inclusive tours and product packages .

All packages are intended to solve the natural infflciencies inherent in matching demand supply especially in the leisure sector.

The pressure on marketing manages to sell their programmes is enormous and put great emphasis on tactical sales management of demand.

Tactical promotion

For tour operators the choices for tactical promotion

are

1. Increased advertising weight.

2. Sales promotions aimed at customers such as

competitions.

3. Sales promotion aimed at retailers

4. Price-cutting to stimulate sales for targeted

weeks.

Transportation and travel management 9

Travel