Search
Recommended Products
Related Links


 

 

Informative Articles

Advanced Uses for Google's Algorithm
Previously... In our article on Understanding Google's Algorithm , a brief explanation was given on what the Google algorithm is and a few general tips were given to help the beginner to optimize their website for it. This article will go into...

Ebooks are Promotional Powerhouses
Ebooks are part of the new frontier of cyberspace. They are an entirely new medium for sharing marketing information, ideas, techniques, and expert knowledge. Each day the number of people accessing the Internet grows, causing the exposure of...

Internet Marketing- The Importance of Team Work
Almost every online opportunity seems perfect to join and some of them really are, but before you join, even it is free, you should know The Importance of Team Work. If you are : Active promoter- many years of experience in online marketing...

Link Strategy
The internet has been one of most amazing phenomenon in the arena of technology. It has attracted millions of users worldwide and is continually attracting users exponentially. Along with this, the number of websites have also grown. Websites are...

The New State Of The Art Method For Making Money With Joint Ventures
If you are anything like me, you spend a lot of time researching joint ventures and going through the chore of analysing all the joint venture proposals you get on a daily basis in your inbox. I've often wondered if there was an easier way to find...

 
Marketing Tourism Online, part one: The Basics

This is part one of an article series which will introduce some basic strategies, considerations, elements, and techniques for marketing tourism products online. We plan to update and refine these articles as situations change and when we have new knowledge to present. You can request to be notified when a new article in the series is available.
Opportunities and room to improve

While most tourism organizations are by now familiar with the Internet, far fewer have really gained an understanding of the technologies, new resources, new communication opportunities, and the requirements that they represent. These tips and explanations should prove a useful introduction.

While new technologies provide new opportunities, they don't change the basics of marketing: people, product, price, promotion, and distribution. Know your target markets, understand their purchase decision processes, and offer them the right product, at the right time, for the right price—and correct your course continually.
Shaping the purchase decision process and the tourism experience

Your online communication with customers can be used to shape outcomes in the following circumstances and stages, in relation to a potential tourist's purchase decision and tourism experience. Good communication can:

Build awareness of a product or destination, and reshape existing perceptions;

Generate interest;

Provide information to turn interest into desire;

Transact the actual


purchase or series of purchases;

Provide reassurance of a good purchase and offer preparatory information for the actual tourism experience;

Continue to provide information, shape perception, and improve the experience during the tourist's journey;

Aid and deepen memories after the tourism experience;

Build upon your relationship to your customer, to add value for both you and the tourist; and

Encourage referrals and generate repeat business.

There are different goals to achieve and appropriate methods of communication for each of these circumstances. Adding further complexity is the fact that different people (family members, friends, co-workers, etc.) may be involved and have varying importance at different stages of one purchase decision!
In conclusion

Despite these complexities, there are some basic guidelines which will help you communicate and market effectively online. The next in this series of articles presents advice for attracting visitors to your website.

(Seattle, USA; August 2004)

About the Author

Bryan Wilson is a travel marketing consultant and partner in Leave Home Productions
Leave Home Productions (http://www.leave-home.com) provides marketing services and tools to tourism-related businesses and organizations. Our clients benefit from strategies, tools, and creative concepts developed to clarify their needs, make use of their resources, and help them achieve their goals.