Bespayeva R.,
Karaganda economic university of Kazpotrebsoyuz
Development
of marketing in the management of the tourism industry companies
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries
in the world economy, uniting a number of companies engaged in organizing
recreation for travelers and providing consumers with a variety of tourism
services. Every year Kazakhstan’s tourism industry is becoming more actively
involved in the global market. However, this process is constrained by a number
of factors, including shortcomings of public policies in tourism sector,
industry’s still lagging behind its foreign counterparts, and so on.
In the context of
economic changes, a modern tourism company, as well as any enterprise producing
goods or services, is faced with many challenges, when there is a decline of
investment in the sector, deterioration of organizing planned activities,
limitation to carry out a long-term investment policy, etc. More tourism
businesses are starting to show interest in strategic management and marketing with increasing competition, cost escalation, falling
productivity and deterioration in the quality of tourism services.
In such circumstances, a company can not be
limited to current planning and operational management of its activities. There
is a need for strategic thinking that needs to be translated into a program of
action, clarifying objectives and means of implementing chosen path of
development.
Strategic management is based on assumption that
it is impossible to predict long-term trends with sufficient precision, thus,
strategic management is defined as a management technology under conditions of
greater instability of environmental factors and their uncertainties in time.
Strategic planning and
management at an enterprise in modern conditions includes foresight, planning,
coordination, organization, development and management decisions, monitoring
and evaluation that also involves senior management of organization to identify
preferred directions of development, giving a competitive advantage and
organization of means for achieving these goals through relevant strategies by
making changes in organization.
Features of the tourism
industry, which specializes in providing clients with a certain set of
services, bring additional complexity in the sphere of strategic marketing,
planning and management.
Managing tourism is specific and different from
activities of other industries; at first glance it may seem that management of
tourism enterprises is based on the same base as management of any company.
The challenge of tourism management is to
uncover general trends and patterns of its development, and to find its
specific features. Features of the tourism industry result from specific
properties of services provided by tourism enterprises and organizations.
It is necessary to
define the specifics of tourism services and its impact on management of
tourism companies. Accordingly, it should be identified how and in what
direction to form and develop management tools to properly solve those specific
problems that are typical for tourism enterprises.
Consider the features of
tourism; the first one contains a complexity of interactions between its
constituent elements. Major tourism enterprises are created only in densely
populated areas; they are typical for the tourism industry. Most of the tourism
enterprises are small-sized. There are a lot of tourism enterprises and
organizations that in one way or another have to fit into a single regional
management system, where the aim is to ensure long-term viability and
competitiveness in the market [1].
Another feature of
tourism as a management object can be described as a form of difficult objectives.
Due to the fact that tourism organization has no measurable goals, it is
impossible to objectively evaluate its productivity and success. This is a
probabilistic nature of processes taking place in tourism industry. This means
that it is rather difficult to accurately predict all phenomena and processes
occurring in tourism (political situation has changed, climatic conditions have
worsened, system of taxation has changed (got complicated), etc.) [2].
Strong influence from
the side of the interested customers is also a feature of tourism. Travel
companies are working with a large number of interested parties (responsive
groups of consumers) that have a strong impact on organization. Moreover,
individual interest groups have their own interests. Tourism organization can
quickly balance the interests between different groups involved in the service,
if its activities are guided by generally accepted norms, priorities and
perceptions of values and has wide-ranging objectives for further
development of a region.
Central feature of
tourism is specificity of tourism product, its inseparability from the source
of formation. Goods in their material forms exist independently from their
manufacturer, a tourism service, as a commodity, is inseparable from the source
of its creation. As for implementation of a tourism product, personal aspect is
enhanced, the process of providing tourism services can be automated to a far
lesser extent than, in particular, process of producing goods. It is highly
unlikely to predict a tourist’s behavior; it depends not only on objective
circumstances, but also on subjective factors. Human resource management and
regulation of interpersonal relations are paid attention in tourism management.
This applies to the work of tourism companies and organizations whose services
are in direct contact with people.
To ensure stable demand
for tourism products and services it is offered to apply a combination of the
two strategies - minimization of costs strategy and differentiation strategy,
by which it can achieve greater competitiveness.
The price is an
important point when choosing a route for standard tour programs for foreign
and Kazakh tourists. Therefore, the strategy of minimizing costs should be
followed to attract more tourists by standard tour programs. But in order not
to limit the market by several customer segments, it is appropriate to use
differentiation strategy that allows the company to gain a competitive
advantage through a variety of routes, developing exclusive programs for
visiting cultural and historical sites of the republic, it will attract more
tourist groups. Also, the combination of these two strategies will help the
company gain a firm foothold in the market, to achieve fame in the wider range
of consumers, and consequently to increase profits constantly.
Also a feature of
tourism as a management object of control can be expressed in the complexity of
tourism services. Tourism service is everything that a tourist takes into
account or what he or she uses while traveling. Therefore, tourism service is
made for tourists from the whole range of services (both tangible and
intangible) that are tourism-specific products.
A feature as seasonality
should be emphasized, i.e. dependence of volume of tourism services, primarily,
on climatic conditions. In solving the problems of management in tourism, this
phenomenon must be taken into account by managers of tourism enterprises as
demand fluctuations may significantly affect conditions of functioning of the
entire tourism industry [3].
Managers of tourism business should understand
that the tourism industry as a management object is nothing like other
industries.
Seven distinctive features specific to manage
any tourism company can be identified:
1. Inability to storage. Places in a hotel or on
an airplane can not be stored for the purpose of selling them in the future.
Therefore, managers need to make an effort to stimulate the demand for these
services in the short term.
2. Intangibility of services. There no
dimensional values to evaluate a tourism product: it is impossible to have an
idea about the quality of the product prior to its purchase and use. In this
connection, a company's image on the market and the image of its products
(services) are important to consumers.
3. Exposure to seasonal fluctuations. Marketing
activities of travel companies will vary during peak season and off-season. In
the off-season, additional measures to stimulate demand are needed: low prices,
a variety of additional services, variation of different types of tourism.
4. Significant static character, attachment to a
particular place.
5. Discrepancy between the time of sale of
tourism services and consumption. Tourism products are purchased weeks or
months prior to their consumption. In this case, a big role is played by
printed promotional products, which provide visual information about the
tourism product being purchased and allow creating a sense of benefits that can
be derived from its use in the future.
6. Dispersal of consumers and producers in
tourism market. Information activities and advertising on a broader level are
important.
7. Buyer overcomes the distance separating him
or her from the product and the place of consumption, and not vice versa.
Although the
general algorithm of the strategic management process is universal for
enterprises of all sectors, considered features of tourism industry and travel
companies have an impact on almost all of its stages.
Strategic management cycle of a travel company consists of the following
stages:
-
strategic analysis of
internal and external environment;
-
definition of
organization mission and development of long-term and short-term goals;
-
strategy development;
-
strategy implementation;
-
assessment of strategy
effectiveness and correction of preceding stages.
As globalization and computer technology
continue to advance, production process of goods and services is greatly
accelerated, tourism product life cycle is rapidly declining. If the tourism
industry shall succeed in terms of high-speed changes, the range will have to
be changed at the same pace or even be one step ahead. This is facilitated by
modern information technologies playing the role of a constructive factor.
The tourism market
coverage with various tourism services, intense competition of travel companies
for consumer preferences, ability of entrepreneurs to independently set goals, strategies, management
structures necessitated the use of marketing in tourism.
As globalization and computer technology
continue to advance, production process of goods and services is greatly
accelerated, tourism product life cycle is rapidly declining. Today, tourism management must take into account that
modern consumer is a competent, a well-informed consumer. Development of
information technology, the Internet and the media broke the monopoly of
producers on completeness of information: quality, price, variety of goods and
services became available to interested consumers. Therefore, in strategic
business planning it is insufficient to rely only on service (product) and
volume.
The philosophy of
business process management should be changed in modern conditions of rapidly
developing scientific and technological progress and competition. Getting past
objective phenomena when doing business is impossible.
The main strategic
objective of a tourism company in these circumstances is to build a business
based on new model of commercial success, in which the factors of accelerating
changes play a positive role. This model of tourism management is based on
level of company’s relationships with customers and market value of a tourism
product. Such an approach inevitably at different times will suit all
participants of tourism market, who want to be financially stable and
professionally continue their business.
Following problems are
immediately found in implementation of this approach:
-
changing internal
management structure;
-
establishing a client
base, its constant expansion and analysis;
-
precise definition of
content and volume of tourism product and services being marketed;
-
inclusion of customer,
consumer in creating the value of a tourism product, which he will really
appreciate.
Addressing these issues
requires qualified personnel, trained in the art of communication with a client
and the art of selling tourism services. Currently, there are effective
techniques that allow acquiring the necessary skills and ability to communicate
with clients. Knowledge of communication technologies and sales allow to
provide consumer preferences of customers and to establish a stable system of
relations with them.
This system, in turn, will give new
impetus to purposeful development of tourism products and services of a
company, and their sale is guaranteed. Travel companies orienting their
activities on development of close relations with customers should identify
their clients, their particular segment on tourism market in the process of
strategic management. The more accurate identification of customer’s type,
formation of company’s client base, the more productive relations with them.
A tourism product of tourism company
level includes many different services (booking, visa, airline and train
tickets, etc.), which are offered to a wide range of consumers. A consumer can
purchase or not purchase a particular tourism product, for example, if he or
she is not satisfied with the price, does not like the attitude of staff, is
not convinced by information booklet, does not like the company's office. If a
tourism company works with its customers, is focused on a certain type of
customer, it must rebuild its internal business process management structure.
Quality of service and service
culture are the most powerful weapon in the competitive activity on international
tourism market.
Consumer-oriented means studying not
productive capacities, but requirements of the market and developing plans to
meet them. In the sector of tourism industry hospitality for the whole staff of
tourism facilities is a professional requirement. The pillars of hospitality
are dignity, respect, courtesy and professionalism.
Psychological climate of interaction
of tourists with the staff and considering psychological aspects of perception
of services by a tourist, technology of their delivery are important when
organizing technology of service. This means that personal interests of
tourists, mental attitude towards them are put at the forefront.
The main criterion of quality of
tours and service programs is the interest of tourists. The important thing is
that each tour is consistent with the interests of those tourists, for whom it
was designed, that they enjoyed the service program and the tours are in
demand.
In such a company there will be a
unit to work with clients, analysis department and others. The main direction
in business strategy in this case would be selection criteria for expansion of
the typology of its customers and expanding the range of coverage of consumer
market segments. Expansion of customer typology and building business based on
relationships with them both in form and content differs significantly from
expansion of assortment policy of the tourism company.
If a tourism product and element
wise technology of its production were at the center of business process in a number
of tourism companies, currently some progressive companies are using a
management formula: customer - his/her needs - business. Consumer properties of
tourism products, technology of their production may change, but commercial
success of the company will remain as long as there is a consumer of these
products. More important is the question of pricing the tourism products and
providing customers with a special cost of service and a range of value-added
services whether or not within vacation package.
If the tourism industry shall
succeed in terms of high-speed changes, the range will have to be changed at
the same pace or even be one step ahead. People’s notions of best leisure
activities are constantly changing, fashion of prestigious destinations changes,
new resort areas emerge, new clients come with new requests.
If to analyze a
tourism product offered to a consumer by different companies today, it will be
very alike and there is a not much difference.
A successful
tourism company, of course, seeks to provide a variety of services to as many
customers as possible. This pattern of commercial success is typical for the
majority of companies in modern tourism market. Success depends on service
(product, goods) and volume. In connection with this approach, many travel
companies are trying to diversify its range of services to satisfy as many
customer needs as possible.
With development of
tourism market, presence (or absence) of the organization’s trade name (brand)
well-known among customers is becoming a significant factor in formation of
consumer preferences.
A well-known brand
offers tourism organization a number of competitive advantages: reducing the
cost of marketing, purchasing a certain degree of impact on the organization
(marketers), establishing higher prices than its competitors, easier
implementation of expansion strategy of brand, protection in the face of fierce
price competition, strengthening of corporate image, simplification of market
promotion of new tourism products and services and ensuring loyalty among
consumers and intermediaries.
Modern competitive
conditions require tourism industry organizations to further differentiate the
products and services sold under a specific trade name taking into account
specific requirements of individual customer groups.
Solution to this
problem is possible if tourism organizations will have a method of action for
each selected segment of the target market and will be able to choose a variety
of marketing programs to create, maintain and expand strong relationships with
customers, to increase customer’s loyalty, to establish the image of tourism
services offered by them.
The logic of
developing market relations in tourism industry is leading to setting and
solving such problems as the study and segmentation of tourism market,
quantitative and qualitative assessment of effectual demand for tourism
services, positioning, use of means of communication and sales promotion.
Having chosen a new
formula of tourism business focused on achieving commercial success through
development of relationships with certain types of customers and increasing the
range and quality of services, on providing them with particular use value, a
tourism company successfully implements its business idea.
Moreover, ensuring
competitiveness of tourism company requires professionals in the sector of tourism
business with special training. A company’s work should be placed in such a way
that each of its employees is personally responsible for their area of
work. General Manager should control the work, and his/her
activity is connected with studying potential markets, maintaining and
strengthening contacts with major customers and private intermediaries. Company
management should pay more attention to market research, as the knowledge of
market is a prerequisite for the company’s success.
Therefore, the
following can be considered as basic conditions / factors of tourism company’s
success:
-
attitude of company’s
employees to work in the sector of tourism as a complex production process;
-
presence of own
technology, according to which the production process is divided into
elementary components having real implementation techniques and automation means, which contributes to guaranteed volume of
sales;
-
personal responsibility
of each individual employee of the company for a particular area of
work and availability of trained, highly skilled personnel;
-
ability to compete
(having leading position skills);
-
effective advertising
(publication of own brochures, catalogs corresponding to world standards).
At the present time it is impossible to the effective functioning of any
company, including organizations of the tourism industry, without the use of
the basic principles and methods of marketing, which are derived from the
features of tourist marketing:
- demand
management rather than encouraging it. Stimulating demand is not a priority.
Demand for tourist services is constantly increasing, and the tourism industry
to a lesser extent than other industries, depends on changes in market
conditions. For tourist marketing the most important task is the direction of demand
in the right direction;
- the
accuracy and completeness of information on tourism products;
- special
attention to protect the client's rights - the consumer of tourist products;
- advisability
of diversification of tourist services and greater attention to the marketing
activities in the off-season in order to reduce dependence on the seasonal
tourist organizations;
- accounting
in marketing activities not only material aspects but also psychological,
spiritual and emotional state and characteristics of consumers;
- the
need to coordinate marketing activities carried out by all organizations -
participants of the production of tourist services.
Thus, the basic principles of tourism marketing are as follows:
1) Focus on achieving the final practical result of tourist activities.
Effective implementation of tourist services in the market and the mastery of a
certain share of the market;
2) Orientation Tourism Organization not momentary, and the result of
long-term strategic marketing work. This requires special attention to
forecasting research, development based on these results of new tourist
services that provide highly profitable activities of the company;
3) The use of tactics and strategy of active adaptation to the
requirements of potential customers with targeted simultaneous effect on them.
Marketing Principles identify specific areas of marketing activities of
the tourist organization, its functions, which are closely interlinked and,
therefore, can not be one of them removed from the system without disrupting
its integrity.
Market research and forecast of its development provides a systematic,
comprehensive study of the status and trends of tourist markets; analysis of
the situation, capacity, dynamics, structure, competitors; assess their own
position in the market, as well as the definition of short- and long-term
development trends of individual segments of the tourist market, and as a
whole.
Thus, the starting positions for the selection of the tourist strategy
of the organization associated with marketing. Marketing activity Tourism
Organization is the basis for the planning of all aspects of work and provides
two areas of activity:
1) strategic Marketing (continuous needs analysis, development of new
kinds of goods and services for the recognition of consumers and a sustainable
competitive advantage of the organization) - an analytical process that focuses
on the long term;
2) operational marketing (sales organization, sales and communications
to demonstrate the distinctive qualities of tourist services at lower costs to
customers search) - an active process with short-term planning horizon.
The main objective of operational marketing - generated revenues from
sales, ie sales service and receive orders for services through the use of the
most effective sales methods, while reducing costs. The goal of achieving a
certain sales volume is transformed into the production program and sales
program. Thus, operational marketing is the defining element that directly
affects the short-term profitability of the organization.
In connection with the development of technological innovation, and
globalization of the tourist business of the company to achieve and retain a
competitive advantage over other organizations must necessarily take into
account the following features of the present stage of development of society:
- benefits
ceased to be strategic, they change under the influence of the innovation
process (change of service technologies, management techniques, marketing
methods and services, etc.), so to keep the competitive advantage requires
constant innovation. Dates innovation must equal or exceed the terms of
implementation of similar innovations from competitors;
- globalization
of business is forcing companies to take into account national and
international interests;
- country
and area organizations are considered not only as the place where the company
operates, as well as the basis for developing the strategy. The potential of
the company essentially depends on the conditions in which it operates, and is
subject to constant change.
Currently, economists have developed many areas
of the organization to achieve a competitive advantage, but the most common
are:
- strategy
leading position on costs - organization striving to minimize costs in the
production and distribution of tourist services, to set lower prices and expand
its market share. Leadership in costs - an aggressive strategy aimed at
achieving production efficiency of tourist services and to ensure strict
control of all costs. This strategy requires the organization to the optimal
size, the presence of well-developed distribution network, capture a certain
share of the market, monitoring overhead and other fixed costs. The tourist
companies with this strategy there is a hierarchical management structure, are
quantitatively expressed objectives, tight control of costs, constant
investment in modern equipment and technology;
- differentiation
strategy - focus on winning the championship by the level of service, product
quality, the maintenance technology, etc .; aims to provide consumers with
special (Unique Service), is a modification of the standard. Differentiation of
services on the market means the ability of an organization to provide
uniqueness and more high (compared to competitors), the value of services to
the customer in terms of quality level, the presence of its special
characteristics, distribution methods, after-sales service. Potential basis for
differentiation of services are factors that increase the value of production
services for the buyer, including the psychological satisfaction. When
differentiating the tourist services cost price increases, but the costs are of
secondary importance, as compensated, as a rule, by setting high prices. Thus, differentiation
of tourist services allows you to avoid price competition, to operate in
different markets;
- concentration
strategy (focusing) - the choice of limits on the scale of the scope of
activities of the organization with the concentration of its activities in a
relatively small target group of consumers, part of the product range, or any
aspect of the activity. This strategy is based on choosing a narrow field of
competition within the industry (market niche). focus strategy is inherent, as
a rule, small organizations of the tourism industry. Experts identify two areas
of focus within the selected segment of the market the company is trying to
achieve advantages in costs or increases the differentiation of services or
carries out both. focus strategy aims at providing advantages over competitors
in a separate market segment. The basis of the strategy is a distinct trend in
the activities of the organization and the level of staff to successfully serve
a niche market. a very important role is played by marketing activities, which
boils down to the definition of the pressing market challenges and possible
solutions for the implementation of this strategy.
- early
market entry strategy means that the organization is the first to offer the
market an original tourist services. This strategy can provide a sustainable
competitive advantage, to obtain exclusive, ultra-high profits, and promote
rapid growth of the organization. First-mover advantage is based on the fact
that the organization is the first in this business in the territory or in the
new market. The main features of this competitive advantage is; use of
innovation (product, process and organizational); the presence of significant
risk; the complexity of the conservation benefits; difficulty in implementing
the plan, as there is no experience in similar conditions;
- integration
strategy - to provide competitive advantage by connecting a number of companies
with the purpose of sharing resources, sharing of experience, market
development, management experience, etc. The meaning of the integration
strategy is that it helps to get higher profitability at the relationship of
organizations than in the separate control of the situation.
In practice, usually quite difficult to identify
or classify a clear strategy that uses one or another organization of the
tourism industry.
Literature:
1. Ushakov DS Strategic planning in tourism: the
manual / DS Ushakov. - Rostov n / D: Phoenix, 2007. - 285 p. - (Higher
education)
2. Quarterly VA Theory and practice of tourism. M .:
Finance and Statistics, 2003.
3. AV Lukyanenkova Strategic management of the tourist
company in Crisis: abstract dis. ... The candidate of economic sciences:
08.00.05 / Lukyanenkova Anna Vladimirovna; [A protection Place: C.-P. state. Univ of Economy and
Finance] .- St. Petersburg, 2009.- 22 p.