The Importance of Advertising & Marketing for Tourism

Advertising and marketing are vital to tourism.

The growth of tourism as an industry produces significant benefits to a country's economic development in a number of ways, including income generation, employment opportunities, and social and cultural transformation. However, since tourism is a service-based industry, it can be quite intangible and more difficult to market than tangible goods. The use of appropriate promotional campaigns targeted to a global audience or a specific segment of society can boost the tourism industry of a country with remarkable results.

Awareness

The customs and charm of a particular tourist spot or a whole country can be magnified and made known through the right media. The development of suitable advertising and marketing campaigns is vital in creating this awareness within a target audience. Moreover, tourism is an industry where the customer must travel to the product (place/community) instead of the other way around. Since travel is a major factor in people's decisions on whether or not to visit a business or community, tourism-related businesses, agencies and organizations need to work together to package and promote tourism opportunities of a particular location and align their efforts to assure consistency in product quality.

Alter Perceptions

Advertising and marketing can hugely impact an audience's perception of a certain area or community. For example, someone unfamiliar with Morocco may know the place only as a chaotic, poverty-stricken country, and may never even conceive of traveling there for recreation. However, when promoted as a country that offers an eclectic mix of Roman ruins, bustling souks, imperial cities, rugged mountains, deep gorges, charming coasts and spices, that person may be more inclined to explore Morocco.

Stimulate Desire

By creating awareness and altering an audience's perception of a certain place through a consistent advertising and marketing campaign, desire is awakened and stimulated. The specific target market is more likely to want to travel to the area, explore its promises, and gain a unique experience that they can treasure forever. An important task of advertising and marketing is to constantly stimulate this desire, creating a sense of need for the target audience to travel to the area and soak up its diverse offerings.

Generate Action/Response

An effective promotional campaign results in positive action or response from its target market. The audience should feel compelled to seek out information regarding activities, accommodation and travel into the area or community being promoted. More desirably, the campaign is effective enough to generate actual sales and sustain a successful tourism industry.

Impact Sales

Effective advertising and marketing generate sales and draw more and more people to the particular tourist spot or country. However, customer service on site is important as well. Internal marketing, which includes creating a positive customer experience, is vital to sustaining the tourism business. Since repeat sales result from such customer experience, internal marketing must work hand in hand with external promotional campaigns to ensure continued growth and success in the industry.

Core concepts of Marketing - needs, wants, and demands

What are the differences and relationships among needs, wants, and demands?

Needs are the basic human requirements. People need food, air, water, clothing, and shelter to survive. People also have strong needs for creation, education, and entertainment.

The above needs become wants when they are directed to specific objects that might satisfy the need. An American needs food but may want a hamburger, French fries, and a soft drink. A person in Mauritius needs food but may want a mango, rice, lentils, and beans. Wants are shaped by one's society.

Demands are wants for specific products backed by an ability to pay. Many people want a Mercedes; only a few are willing and able to buy one.

Companies must measure not only how many people want their product but also how many would actually be willing and able to buy it.

Understanding customer needs and wants is not always simple. Some customers have needs of which they are not fully conscious, or they cannot articulate these needs, or they use words that require some interpretation. Consider the customer who says he wants an "inexpensive car.” The marketer must probe further. We can distinguish among five types of needs:

1. Stated needs (the customer wants an inexpensive car).

2. Real needs (the customer wants a car that operating cost, not its initial price, is low).

3. Unstated needs (the customer expects good service from the dealer).

4. Delight needs (the customer would like the dealer to include an onboard navigation system).

5. Secret needs (the customer wants to be seen by friends as a savvy consumer).