The Impact of Consumer Search Behavior on Search Advertising in the Hotel Industry

This chapter proposes a conceptual framework to encapsulate our understanding of how consumers' search behavior influences the content in search advertising in the hotel industry. We suggest that firms can better match consumers' preferences and needs by embracing a trade-off between price information and product information in search advertising. The dynamics of this trade-off is driven by consumers' prior product knowledge and the type of advertisers in the competitive market. Our framework suggests that travel agents tend to focus more on price advertising in their search ads, whereas hotels do not change their level of price advertising in a competitive market. More interestingly, competition from travel agents and hotels has different effects on the content of search advertising by travel agents and hotels. Our study provides critical insights in responding to different market conditions, which enhance the understanding of firms' behaviors in designing their search advertising content.

Tourism Motivational Factors in Bhutan

The concept of tourism has become one of the vital issues of economic and social benefits to the society. This present study identifies different motivational factors which may directly or indirectly influence the tourists' motivation. The primary objective of this study includes the growth, development and emergence of tourism potentials at Bhutan, in particular, as well as to analyze the tourist flow pattern and also examine the existing and future requirement in the motivational point of view. The major findings of this study show, in the present scenario of the above factors, how to attract more tourists for repeat visit and promoting infrastructural requirement for better tourism service to increase the level of tourists' motivation as well. In the policy implication point of view this study is relevant for balancing the demand and supply of tourism motivational requirement indicators which can offer better service excellence in the study area.

Smart Technologies

The growing number of applications available through smart devices provides an increasing diversity of travel-related services like looking up menus for restaurants, finding directions, making reservations, marketing, advertising and using translations. In the last decade, marketers have developed more creative practices to attract consumers. One of these new marketing tools is augmented reality application with the smart technologies, which is considered as an advertising and new marketing communication instrument that increases awareness and helps get information. This chapter presents the profile of AR applications and marketing benefits in tourism industry.

Sustainable Tourism Marketing Strategy

The chapter describes how sustainable tourism marketing strategy can bring competitive advantage to a destination. It defines tourism destinations; characterizes the principles of sustainable tourism development and its role in competitiveness of the destination. The chapter also shows a destination´ best practice in the implementation of sustainable tourism marketing strategy. The destination was subject to research using onsite and internet surveys, semi-structured and informal interview and the results were subjected to evaluation using the VRIO model.

CRM in Tourism

Businesses tend to operate under the influence of their internal and external environment for favourable outcome and competitive sustainability. Under such circumstances, it becomes critical to develop and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with the variety of stakeholders and customers being of paramount importance, especially in the tourism sector. The recent time has seen dramatic growth in tourism industry and tourism has been considered as one of the largest global export industries (UNWTO, 2003). In order to strive, it has to meet the competitive challenges of the future where quality will be the main driving force which mainly focuses upon the satisfaction of all the legitimate product and service needs, requirements and expectations of the consumer, at an acceptable price, in accordance with the underlying quality determinants such as safety and security, hygiene, accessibility, transparency, authenticity and harmony of the tourism activity concerned with its human and natural environment. These expected needs correspond to what the customer expects to receive and to what is experienced as important. These needs can be expressed by the customer and if these expectations fulfilled, will lead to satisfaction and doing so the service provider creates expected quality (Kvist and Klefsjo, 2006). Recognizing this value of end user's opinion, more and more business organizations are focusing towards customer relationship management (CRM) for building and facilitating ever lasting relationship with them (Richard and Johns, 2008). The competitive marketing environment characterized with the availability of differentiated products (Gartner,2009),availability of low switch over options(Massey et al,2001) and the increasing cost of attracting new customer(Peppard, 2000) not only threaten the loyalties but also raise customer's expectations thus necessitating the need for CRM (Pan &Lee,2003). Buttle (2009) projects that the core aim of CRM is towards managing customer relationship shifting the focus from transaction to acquisition, development and retention.

The Role of Marketing Strategies in the Tourism Industry

This chapter introduces the role of marketing strategies in the tourism industry, thus explaining the application overview of marketing strategies in the tourism industry in terms of the consumer-oriented approach, the competitor-oriented approach, and the trade-oriented approach; the characteristics of consumer behavior in the tourism industry; brand management in the tourism industry; and strategic marketing in the tourism industry. This chapter has explained a wide variety of marketing strategies and an interdisciplinary perspective of tourism marketing that encompasses the academic and practical areas to effectively understand the concept of tourism marketing. 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. Applying the marketing strategies will significantly enhance marketing performance and achieve business goals in the tourism industry.

Potentials of Wineries as Tourism Destinations in India

There are many famous vineyards and wine tasting destinations in India. It might be a splashy red or a soothing white, or a bubbly twist. Wines are here to stay and there are many wine related service providers in many wine tasting destinations and vineyards vying to grab this upcoming dining market. Although the concept of wine tasting is in its nascent stage in India, there are many vineyards which have come up, primarily in the Nashik and Pune region of Maharastra state. One of the attractions for those following the wine trails in India are not only the domestic tourists but also by the foreign tourists who love having Indian foods pairing with the Indian wines. These wine tasting tours satisfy the customers and visitors of affluent class only who are of three levels: aromatic, visual and on the palate. Unlike most Western nations where wine is an essential part of everyday dining, Indian wines are still a part of exclusive fine dining experience affordable mostly to the selective elite or more recently to the upper middle class city folks. But the recent influx of these winemakers in the mainstream Indian Fine dining market has helped enlarge this market.

Giving Brand Image to a Nation

Adapting Keller's brand image theory (1993), this paper presents an exploratory framework for giving brand image to a nation. Utilizing unstructured interviews, the result suggests that tourism and hospitality attributes can be used for giving brand image to a nation and behavioral intention. Specifically, the result denotes that the perceived brand image of a nation is formed according to tourists' cognitive and affective beliefs, which at the end; influence the action to recommend to others and/or for repeat visitation. In addition, the “pretentious” nation brand campaign and national identity found in this exploratory study should be focused upon as variables for further research and testing the framework.

How Can a Regional Theme Park Survive in China?

Theme parks have become a vital component of the tourism industry, providing entertainment and excitement to local residents and tourists. Particularly, more and more parks start their business in Asia. In this competitive environment, investigating the success and failure cases may prove very fruitful implications to other practitioners. Among these implications innovative marketing strategies are one of the most important ones. However, few previous studies attached importance to the study of theme park industry and the service performance in China. Given this lack of attention, this study was conducted in attempts to shed some lights for the park managers all around the world in general but also the ones in Chinese market, in particular. A case study of Wuhu Fantawild Dreamland, Anhui, China, was adopted for the survey and interviews. The analyses suggested China's theme park visitors had some unique preferences which can be used while creating innovative marketing strategies.

A Birds Eye Views on Leisure Services

This chapter highlights the conceptual framework of Leisure services like reviews of literature, importance, past and present scenario, benefits and challenges in leisure services, various view points on leisure, Christian perspective of leisure, kinds of leisure activities, leisure industry and its types. It is pinpointed in this chapter that people live like a machine in this modern computer world and having more stress. Hence, this chapter describes how one can plan and spend his\her free time fruitfully to come out of stress, to get relaxation and benefits out of it. Finally in conclusion clearly emphasize the importance of using leisure services without become addict of wrong choice of leisure activities.