Issue 1/2019

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MARKETING IN TOURISM

INDUSTRY

Bogdan SOFRONOV1
1
University Politehnica of Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Independenței,
Bucharest, 060042, Romania, Email: bogdansofronov@yahoo.com

How to cite: SOFRONOV, B. (2019). “The Development of Marketing in

Tourism Industry.” Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series, 19(1),
115-125, doi: https://doi.org/10.26458/1917

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to show how marketing in developing and
changing the tourism industry in the world.
Tourism marketing is the business discipline of attracting visitors to a
specific location. Hotels, cities, states, consumer attractions, convention centres
and other sites and locations associated with consumer and business travel, all
apply basic marketing strategies to specific techniques designed to increase
visits.
In the tourism industry, marketing includes determining the unique selling
benefit or benefits one area has over its competition. A destination might offer
people looking to combine business and pleasure ease of travel to and from the
area, ample convention halls and hotels, interesting nightlife, and activities for
adult partners and children.
The tourism marketing uses a wide variety of communications strategies and
techniques to promote areas and destinations. A convention centre might purchase
advertisements in trade magazines for meeting planners and send direct mail
materials to corporations that hold events. They might place ads in tennis or golf
magazines to attract those consumers. The tourism destinations build websites and
place ads in consumer publications read by their target customers. The chambers
of commerce are involved in promoting their areas generally and the businesses
within their areas specifically. This often includes offering potential visitors packets
filled with brochures, discount coupons and other materials.
115
Issue 1/2019

Keywords: development; marketing; tourism; tourism industry; international

tourism

JEL Classification: Z30, Z32

Introduction
Marketing in the tourism industry is defined as the policy promoted by a
tourism enterprise which, by constantly exploring the conditions of the tourism
market, both present and future, aims to determine the continuous adaptation of its
own offer to these conditions in order to optimally satisfy requirements and the
realization, on this basis, of a cost-effective economic activity.
Marketing in tourism requires a good knowledge of the exigencies and trends of
the market, the orientation of the supply of tourism products according to the size
and structure of the demand, the establishment of a price and pricing strategy, a
distribution platform, the use of effective tools for promoting the tourism product,
estimating sales opportunities by seasonality.
Marketing in the tourism industry include all the measures by which the
management of a tourism company can explore the product-market relationships by
organizing and directing on their basis all the economic activities that are
considered necessary to evaluate the potential customer and transform it into a
actual demand for a particular tourism product, as well as its supply to the
costumer in order to achieve the expected profit and other objectives set in the
development programs of the tourist units.
The tourist market is made from a network of segments, from certain categories
of clients with preferences, desires, needs and own reasons. For this reason, the
tourism market can be differentiated by many tourism categories to develop
suitable marketing strategies.

Literature Review
My research paper entitled: The development of marketing in tourism industry,
is written after I’ve documented on the basis of the following published articles:
1. “The Relationships among Experiential Marketing, Service Innovation, and
Customer Satisfaction – A Case Study of Tourism Factories in Taiwan” written by
Tsu-Ming Yeh, Shun-Hsing Chen and Tsen-Fei Chen and published in Journal of
Marketing for Sustainable Tourism.
116
 Issue 1/2019

2. “The Implementation of the Marketing Communication Mix Using Internet

Platforms on Turkish Cypriot Hotels” written by Zead M. Alhawamdeh and
published in International Journal of Business and Management.
3. “Implementation of Corporate Governance Mechanisms in Tourism” written by
Fuad Jabbarov and published in Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series.
4. “Developing Inter-Organizational Relationships with Online Travel Agencies
(OTAs) and the Hotel Industry” written by Cherry Huang Yin, Edmund Goh and
Rob Law and published in Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing.

The Development of Marketing in Tourism Industry

Every marketing effort should begin with a plan, and tourism marketing is no
different. The marketing plan is your road map and details the attractions in your
area. It forces you to set a budget on your promotional spending. At the end of each
tourism season, you can use your marketing plan to set goals and make changes for
the next year. [Chron, 2019]
If revenue at one attraction did not meet expectations, perhaps it needs product
development – some upgrades to make it more appealing to visitors – or better
advertising. [Chron, 2019]
Tourism marketing can be expensive, particularly if you want to attract national
or international tourists. Typical funding sources are state tourism agencies and
taxes, including hotel taxes. If there are several tourist attractions in a specific
county – or across several neighbouring counties –, the entire area can be marketed
to potential visitors as an appealing weeklong destination by combining advertising
and other marketing activities. Partnerships can provide tourists with a fuller travel
experience. [Chron, 2019]
Marketing in the tourism industry has distinct characteristics from other
marketing plans. Because tourists are temporary, they are exposed to an area’s
goods and services for shorter periods. But tourists are counting on having a good
time, so marketers should consider strategies that appeal to the emotions, such as
treating kids to a memorable experience. [Chron, 2019]
Tourism-dependent businesses rely on other organizations. One example of
leveraging this dependence would be a musical venue offering discount coupons
for meals at a nearby restaurant. [Chron, 2019]
Tourism does not only mean travelling to a particular destination but also
includes all activities undertaken during the stay. [Gupta & Mirjha, 2016]
117
Issue 1/2019

Combining tourism with volunteer opportunities is another tourism marketing

strategy that appeals to many tourists. Popular both domestically and abroad, such
volunteer tourism can range from repairing schools on American Indian reservations
to installing water systems in poor communities. [Chron, 2019]
Promoting sustainable tourism efforts also appeals to environmentally conscious
travellers. Sustainable tourism emphasizes a balance on tourist activities and the
effect it has on its surroundings, such as the environment. Practices include such
things as energy-saving upgrades, environmentally friendly products and signs and
even limiting the number of visitors to outdoor areas. [Chron, 2019]
In essence, marketing communications is contemporarily a collective terminology
used to refer to all the communications functions applied towards successfully
marketing a service or product. [Alhawamdeh, 2019]
Tourism industry can also establish promotion mechanisms for marketing and
create more opportunities for development through cooperation with local festive and
cultural events, horizontal alliances, and resource integration. [Yeh, et al., 2019]
Modern market trends in the world, in the process of constant volatility of
market conditions, supply and demand, contribute to the development of certain
mechanisms to counter the recession. [Jabbarov, 2018]
Tourism marketing keeps up with the dynamic evolutions and the demands of
tourism industry in relation to the diversity of tourism marketing in modern
organizations. [Kasemsap, 2015]
Tourism marketing helps tourism product and service providers promote their
businesses, brands and destinations. This type of marketing can be quite expensive,
particularly if the aim is to attract national or international tourists. So, forming
partnerships lowers marketing costs for individual tourism product-providers.
[Novelus, 2019]
Tourism is often a part of the leisure activities. In this sense, marketing in
tourism is part of a broader activity, called free-time marketing. [Novelus, 2019]
On that note, we think that marketing in tourism has an important role to connect
the tourism product-providers in one integrated network. Our tourism marketing
strategies and methods are based on relationships between tourism market-operators
and the characteristics of the tourism product itself. [Novelus, 2019]
Promoting the global marketing policy of a tourism company, based on optimal
efforts, involves a coherent set of action practices, based on specific programs.
Tourism industry goes hand in hand with Digital Marketing. The new
generation of travellers no longer just rely on local agencies to help them decide
118
 Issue 1/2019

where to go. Gen Z people are getting inspiration online via various channels
including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and many other travel channels. [Nilead,
2019]
There is no doubt that Digital Marketing is used by so many businesses of
different industries and has proven its worth in delivering many more leads to
them. And of course, more leads mean more business and more business means
more profit. The tourism industry is no different and has adapted well on the realm
of digital world to increase their brands’ awareness and be able to reach more
possible customers as much as they could.[Nilead, 2019]
In the advent of today’s digital age, the importance of Digital Marketing for
businesses has grown and the travel industry did not let this opportunity slip away.
By going online, the travel business agencies can now implement different
activities to make them known, reach a lot of people all over the world and tell
them exclusive offers and post ads that will make every person watching want to
head out and start planning for a getaway. Truly, the influence of Digital Marketing
transcends borders which allowed the travel sector to entice people from all over
the world of the different places they can visit. [Nilead, 2019]
The tourism industry is undeniably one of the first that was affected as the
world migrated to digitalization. The competition was all about coming up with the
best strategy and utilizing it to make a successful trip and worthwhile experience to
all their patrons. The better they do it, the more loyal patrons they can have and the
more the profit increases. But of course, Digital Marketing does not only stop in
making sure travellers can have the best pre-trip experience, it also covers the in-
flight and destination marketing. Digital Marketing is a guide for travellers to get
the best of their travel experience. [Nilead, 2019]
A successful Digital Marketing in the Tourism Industry should not just stop in
enticing guests to buy travel deals. To create a successful one, you should include
the strategy in the three phases of travel so that you can bring your guests back to
you and gain their loyalty. Remember, taking good care of your guests is the key to
keep them on your side. [Nilead, 2019]
Booking by mobile continues to increase  the customers prefer to self-serve in
order to get the information that they need. [TrekkBlog, 2019]
Many businesses have enjoyed great successes by investing in Digital Marketing.
Whether you are a ticketing office, a hotel reservation company, a booking company
for restaurants and bars or a travel package provider, we assure you that you can make
119
Issue 1/2019

use of Digital Marketing in a way or two. Whether or not you will be successful, all
depends on the way you plan and implement your strategy. An experienced Digital
Marketing Agency can certainly help you to properly plan and get things up and
running, but in the end everything relies on your effort and commitment into making
Digital Marketing work for you. To give you an idea of how some travel and tourism
agencies are making use of Digital Marketing. [Nilead, 2019]

Fig. 1. Booking by Smartphone in 2018

Source: Travel Statistics to Know about in 2018 and 2019, accessed February 27, 2019,
https://www.trekksoft.com/en/blog/65-travel-tourism-statistics-for-2019

The Importance of Marketing in Tourism Industry

A solid marketing strategy is crucial in any business and the tourism industry is
no different. [WildWeb, 2019]
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and is also one of
the best ways to boost a country’s economy. With more and more destinations
realising this and seeking to attract more tourists, the industry is becoming
increasingly competitive. This is why it’s now more important than ever to ensure
that your marketing strategy is up to scratch. [WildWeb, 2019]
The reasons why a good marketing strategy is vital to the tourism business are
[WildWeb, 2019]:
120
 Issue 1/2019

 Identify the ideal target market. The first step to developing a successful
marketing campaign is identifying who the ideal target market is. Depending on the
experience on offer, the customer will vary.
 Attract new customers and develop loyalty. Once the ideal target market has
been identified, a strategy to reach these potential customers must be developed.
Because customer loyalty is key, a lot of time needs to be devoted to building brand
awareness and creating ongoing, interconnected campaigns that both target
previous guests, and attract new ones.
 Understand the customer journey. In tourism, the ultimate end goal is the
sale of an experience – not a material object. This means that the customer journey
to making a purchase is rather different and comes with its own set of challenges.
Understanding this journey that the customer takes before going through with a
purchase is critical to a successful marketing campaign.
 Stand out from competitors. As the tourism industry becomes more and more
competitive, it’s important to make sure that your business stands out. Highlighting
what is unique or different about the business is one of the best ways to achieve
this. A really good marketing strategy is able to communicate these points
effectively to the customers in a way that speaks to them.
 Hone in on the most effective tactics. Using research and analytical tools, a
marketing strategy allows you to assess which resources are best helping to reach
your audience, and then focus on those resources to ensure the best ROI possible.
At the end of the day, having a good marketing strategy in place allows you to feel
confident in knowing that all your business’s marketing needs are being carefully
looked after.
Tourism marketing contributes to the growth of local and national economies
worldwide. In fact, one-fifth of all global jobs created over the past decade have
been within the travel sector. Nearly 10 percent of all jobs are supported by this
industry. [Bizfluent, 2019]
The more people visit a city or country, the more money they spend. This helps
grow the local economy and attracts investors. New hotels and vacation resorts
open their doors, leading to the creation of new jobs. As the local infrastructure and
services improve, the number of tourists increases even more. [Bizfluent, 2019]
Many small cities and towns are home to world-class accommodations.
Marketers promote these places online and offline to drive brand awareness and
121
Issue 1/2019

attract visitors. They also make sure that information on restaurants, hotels and
other venues is easily accessible and up-to-date. [Bizfluent, 2019]
Tourism marketing drives business growth. If customers are satisfied with your
services, they’ll spread the world about your facility, whether it’s a local pub or a
hotel. This will bring you more clients and give you a competitive edge. [Bizfluent,
2019]
Considering these facts, it’s no wonder that travel professionals invest billions
in marketing. Digital advertising spending in the U.S. travel industry increased
from $2.4 billion in 2011 to $8.5 billion in 2018 – and it’s expected to reach $9.8
billion in 2019. [Bizfluent, 2019]
Today, you can easily travel from one place to another and use the internet to
research every possible destination. [Bizfluent, 2019]
Tourism would not exist to the extent that it does today if tourists are not able to
travel from one destination to another, in a quick and efficient manner. [Camilleri,
2017]
Content marketing is increasingly added to the marketing mix of advertising
companies in the tourism industry. [TourismReview, 2019]
Creativity in tourism is a central issue, which is set in particular terms in the
current period. In essence, creativity in tourism is often measured by the originality
of the tourist products offered, by the correspondence between them and the
extremely varied preferences of tourists. As a result of the refining of taste and
variety of preferences, functionality, correlated with aesthetics, is the essential
condition, a demand for the tourist product.
The tourism industry is distinguished by the vast amount of information and
data available to target travel enthusiasts. Recovering this data is easy; the real
challenge is to analyze these data and draw relevant conclusions from them. Here is
the real potential of deep learning. The more data they analyze, the better they will
get. The travel sector needs to adapt to the new standards and include a broad view
of the user experience.
Many travel companies often focus only on enhancing their performance with
retargeting providers. But retargeting also offers them plenty of creative
opportunities to successfully promote their brands.

122
 Issue 1/2019

Table 1. Digital Marketing in Tourism Industry

1. Hotels which use online marketing 85%

2. Travel agency which use online marketing 91%

3. Small tourism business which use online marketing 95%

4. Travel destinations which use online marketing 86%

Source: personal contribution

Conclusions
In conclusion, marketing in tourism is just a way to describe the experiences
that potential customers can expect if they buy the respective product.
The stages in marketing strategy are:
 Identify the market customers.
 Transmit information.
 Determine the most appropriate way to reach those costumers.
 Closing the transaction.
 Develop and implement a post-visit strategy.
Marketing strategies depend largely on budget. Marketing means a lot of money
spent on a relative percentage of buyers of the tourist product. A marketing strategy
focused on a particular market segment, even if it means a higher cost per person,
can bring more buyers.
The complexity of the tourism industry, the specific nature of the tourism
business’s activity bound to take into account all other tourism-related activities,
leads to the need for an appropriate marketing approach.
Regardless of the level at which marketing principles apply, the interests
involved in tourism activity must be achieved in the spirit of increased
responsibility towards society and the environment.
Planning a trip involves the daily visit of hundreds of pages of travel offers and
search times that can reach weeks before the final purchase is made. This translates
123
Issue 1/2019

into a multitude of interactions that Digital Marketing needs to harness. The

number of client-to-customer digital interactions increases rapidly as offers
returned by search engines, booking applications, online travel agencies, and offers
sites get closer to their requirements.

References
[1] Bizfluent (2019). The Importance of Marketing in Tourism, accessed February 26,
2019, https://bizfluent.com/about-6584954-importance-marketing-tourism.html
[2] Chron (2019). What Is Tourism Marketing?, accessed February 26, 2019,
https://smallbusiness. chron.com/tourism-marketing-56473.html
[3] Jabbarov, Fuad (2018). “Implementation of Corporate Governance Mechanisms in
Tourism.” Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series, 18(4), 113-122,
https://doi.org/10.26458/1846
[4] Gupta, T. C., & Mirjha, N. D. (2016). “Development of Tourism Industry and
Marketing in Chhattisgarh.” Journal of Tourism & Hospitality, 5:219, https://doi.org/
10.4172/ 2167-0269.1000219
[5] Kasemsap, Kijpokin (2015). “The Role of Marketing Strategies in the Tourism
Industry.” Emerging Innovative Marketing Strategies in the Tourism Industry,
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-8699-1.ch010
[6] Camilleri, Mark (2017). “The Tourism Industry: An Overview.” Travel Marketing,
Tourism Economics and the Airline Product. An Introduction to Theory and Practice,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49849-2_1
[7] Nilead (2019), Digital Marketing in Travel and Tourism Industry, accessed February
27, 2019, https://nilead.com/article/digital-marketing-in-travel-and-tourism-industry
[8] Novelus (2019), Marketing Tourism, accessed February 27, 2019, https://novelus.eu/
industries/tourism-marketing/
[9] TourismReview (2019), The Importance of Content Marketing for Tourism Industry,
accessed February 27, 2019, https://www.tourism-review.com/content-marketing-is-
growing-in-importance-news10268
[10] TrekkBlog (2019), Travel Statistics to Know about in 2018 And 2019, accessed
February 27, 2019, https://www.trekksoft.com/en/blog/65-travel-tourism-statistics-for-
2019
[11] Yeh, Tsu-Ming, Chen, Shun-Hsing, & Chen, Tsen-Fei (2019). “The Relationships
among Experiential Marketing, Service Innovation, and Customer Satisfaction – A Case
Study of Tourism Factories in Taiwan.” Sustainability, MDPI, Open Access Journal, vol.
11(4), pp 1-12, February, https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041041

124
 Issue 1/2019

[12] WildWeb (2019), The Importance of Tourism Marketing, accessed February 26, 2019,
https://www.wildweb.co.za/blog/the-importance-of-tourism-marketing/
[13] Alhawamdeh, Zead M. (2019). “The implementation of the Marketing Communication
Mix using Internet Platforms on Turkish Cypriot Hotels.” International Journal of
Business and Management, Vol. 14, No. 3, https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v14n3p124

125
Issue 1/2019

126