The formal travel distribution channel is only one option available to the operator or destination to reach
the potential client. The multitude of direct marketing activities available, co-operative marketing, operator
initiated packaging, and word of mouth are also important communication channels used by the industry. The list is
too great to detail here. As a result, a complex web of communications relationships and inter-relationships
exists linking potential travellers with a multitude of destinations.
It is evident that the effectiveness of different communications activities is influenced by a number of Consider ations that influence both the ability to get the message into the market place and the likelihood that potential
tourists who receive it will be motivated to travel. From a consumer's perspective, the critical issue is simply one
of getting the right information. Commercial arrangements between the product and the distributor,
past experiences of both clients and the travel trade with the destination, general consumer awareness, general
awareness by the travel trade, support from other organisations, the volume and competitiveness of alternative products, the quality and attractiveness of the media used, and the visibility of the product/media within a retail outlet all influence the effectiveness of the communication process. Further, as the gate-keeper between the consumer and the product, the individual who disseminates the information has tremendous power to recommend certain products over others that may have little to do with either the quality of the product or its ability to satisfy the needs of the client.
From an industry perspective, two other issues emerge: resource availability and the expertise of the individual expending those resources. Clearly, the ability of any tourism product, destination, region or country to reach potential consumers is limited by the absolute resources available and how effectively they are used. In an ideal world, a highly skilled set of professionals would adopt a strategic marketing focus to allocate its scarce resources in the best way to achieve optimal benefits. In reality, though, anyone who has examined tourism at an operators' level, would appreciate that this is rarely the case. While the larger players undoubtedly have the resources and the expertise to adopt a strategic marketing approach, the vast majority of people in small tourism businesses (which comprise the bulk of tourism organisations) have few resources, little background in marketing and even less understanding of how the tourism distribution system works. As a result, tourism is plagued by sub-optimal communications which limit the ability of most enterprises to achieve their desired goals.
Even if the message reaches the potential consumer, a number of other spatial, temporal and
financial considerations may inhibit the decision to visit, further limiting the effectiveness of the communications used. The related concepts of distance decay (demand reduces exponentially as distance increases) and market access (a relative term that suggests demand is influenced by the number of similar products/destinations available between the destination and the market) have a demonstrable effect on tourist flows. Time availability has been shown to accentuate or minimise the effect of market access and distance decay (see McKercher, 1998). These factors, coupled with simple cost considerations, give some products and destinations an advantage in the marketplace, while disadvantaging others, even though, ostensibly the products on offer may be quite similar.
External tourism agencies, those public and private sector agencies that function outside the commercial tourism world, can have an effect on most of the elements within this model. Pro-action on behalf of public sector tourism agencies has been shown to be a powerful initiator of phase shift that can transform a destination. Indeed, most countries that are recognised as international tourism destinations would not have achieved that status without active involvement by the national government. While governments cannot control tourism, they can certainly influence the direction of its development. Case studies abound in the literature detailing how government policies to encourage or restrict foreign investment, infrastructure development, visa policies, the negotiation of bilateral trade agreements, direct involvement in the international transport sector, and active involvement in marketing, among other actions, have been used to encourage the development of tourism. By the same token, the introduction of governments that are not supportive of tourism can signal a period of stagnation, as witnessed by Canada throughout much of the 1980s.
External tourism agencies are not limited only to public sector agencies; they also involve the equally
influential, but often less well recognised set of private sector oriented tourism trade organisations. The main role of these organisations is to represent the interests of their specific sector to governments with the hope of fostering a positive environment for the development of tourism. Trade associations have not received much interest in the academic literature, but, in many ways, their presence is fundamental in the development of supportive public sector tourism policy.
The formal travel distribution channel is only one option available to the operator or destination to reach
the potential client. The multitude of direct marketing activities available, co-operative marketing, operator
initiated packaging, and word of mouth are also important communication channels used by the industry. The list is
too great to detail here. As a result, a complex web of communications relationships and inter-relationships
exists linking potential travellers with a multitude of destinations.
It is evident that the effectiveness of different communications activities is influenced by a number of Consider ations that influence both the ability to get the message into the market place and the likelihood that potential
tourists who receive it will be motivated to travel. From a consumer's perspective, the critical issue is simply one
of getting the right information. Commercial arrangements between the product and the distributor,
past experiences of both clients and the travel trade with the destination, general consumer awareness, general
awareness by the travel trade, support from other organisations, the volume and competitiveness of alternative products, the quality and attractiveness of the media used, and the visibility of the product/media within a retail outlet all influence the effectiveness of the communication process. Further, as the gate-keeper between the consumer and the product, the individual who disseminates the information has tremendous power to recommend certain products over others that may have little to do with either the quality of the product or its ability to satisfy the needs of the client.
From an industry perspective, two other issues emerge: resource availability and the expertise of the individual expending those resources. Clearly, the ability of any tourism product, destination, region or country to reach potential consumers is limited by the absolute resources available and how effectively they are used. In an ideal world, a highly skilled set of professionals would adopt a strategic marketing focus to allocate its scarce resources in the best way to achieve optimal benefits. In reality, though, anyone who has examined tourism at an operators' level, would appreciate that this is rarely the case. While the larger players undoubtedly have the resources and the expertise to adopt a strategic marketing approach, the vast majority of people in small tourism businesses (which comprise the bulk of tourism organisations) have few resources, little background in marketing and even less understanding of how the tourism distribution system works. As a result, tourism is plagued by sub-optimal communications which limit the ability of most enterprises to achieve their desired goals.
Even if the message reaches the potential consumer, a number of other spatial, temporal and
financial considerations may inhibit the decision to visit, further limiting the effectiveness of the communications used. The related concepts of distance decay (demand reduces exponentially as distance increases) and market access (a relative term that suggests demand is influenced by the number of similar products/destinations available between the destination and the market) have a demonstrable effect on tourist flows. Time availability has been shown to accentuate or minimise the effect of market access and distance decay (see McKercher, 1998). These factors, coupled with simple cost considerations, give some products and destinations an advantage in the marketplace, while disadvantaging others, even though, ostensibly the products on offer may be quite similar.
External tourism agencies, those public and private sector agencies that function outside the commercial tourism world, can have an effect on most of the elements within this model. Pro-action on behalf of public sector tourism agencies has been shown to be a powerful initiator of phase shift that can transform a destination. Indeed, most countries that are recognised as international tourism destinations would not have achieved that status without active involvement by the national government. While governments cannot control tourism, they can certainly influence the direction of its development. Case studies abound in the literature detailing how government policies to encourage or restrict foreign investment, infrastructure development, visa policies, the negotiation of bilateral trade agreements, direct involvement in the international transport sector, and active involvement in marketing, among other actions, have been used to encourage the development of tourism. By the same token, the introduction of governments that are not supportive of tourism can signal a period of stagnation, as witnessed by Canada throughout much of the 1980s.
External tourism agencies are not limited only to public sector agencies; they also involve the equally
influential, but often less well recognised set of private sector oriented tourism trade organisations. The main role of these organisations is to represent the interests of their specific sector to governments with the hope of fostering a positive environment for the development of tourism. Trade associations have not received much interest in the academic literature, but, in many ways, their presence is fundamental in the development of supportive public sector tourism policy.
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