Tourism Marketing: Great Wall of China as a Tourist Attraction - Term Paper Example

Tourism Marketing Table of contents Executive Summary ……………………………………………………. 3 Introduction……………………………………………………………. 3 Tourism, tourist attraction, tourism marketing and tourist……… 4 Tourist Attraction: The Great Wall of China…………………….. 6 Tourism Attraction: The Great Wall of China: Segmentation …… 7 Promotions/Publicity as a marketing communication technique….. 10 Tourism attraction: The Great Wall of China: Theoretical perspectives… 13 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………… 15 Recommendation ………………………………………………………….. 15 List of references……………………………………………………………. 17 Executive Summary The paper seeks to synchronize the various concepts that are harbored in tourism, their developments and their shortcomings. The main aim of the report is to analyze the Great Wall of China as a tourism attraction in relation to the segmentation strategy that the attraction employs. In addition, the paper will present two pieces of marketing communication from the attraction that demonstrates its segmentation strategy. This is in relation to the various marketing approaches that tourist attractions apply and subsequently implement to remain at the top of world class tourist attractions. Primarily, it will focus on the Great Wall of China as a tourist attraction that has arguably made China a tourist destination not forgetting the economic input that it has brought to the Asian country. Introduction Tourism (Franklin 2003) sharply remains a force to reckon with when it comes to social-cultural development of any given area across the world. In this regard, tourism nowadays regulates the economic development of not only developing countries but also developed countries. In early years, tourism was seen as a preserve of the economically stable members of the society but with progression in years, it has been adopted by all classes in the society. This was as a result of huge expenditures that accompanied tourism that was not parallel to most people’s income thus tourism became a luxurious affair and not a basic necessity. In light of this, the continued development of tourism has metamorphosised the exercise from a mere social activity to a business venture leading to the eminent development of the hospitality industry and also management of tourist attraction sites by both the government and non-governmental organizations alike (Johan W. 2001). Tourism, tourist attraction, tourism marketing and tourist The term tourism refers to the voluntary act of visiting luxurious places either for domestic or foreign purposes to sample new events, places and accustom themselves with newer cultural values across the globe. In light of this, tourism is practiced by individuals branded as tourists meaning that they simply ‘tour’ places. Tourism is also a learning experience as the tourists gain considerable amount of knowledge from the visits. For instance, they learn new cultures, languages and fashion trends that they carry home at the end of the tourist dispensation. Tourist attractions therefore provide ample leeway for the provision of foreign exchange that fosters development. Tourist attractions viability is influential and advantageous only if the political atmosphere is contusive. This is because the political administrations play a significant role in the realization of peace and democracy that foster tourism. It is highly unlikely that tourists will visit tourist attractions in a conflict country. For instance, the Libyan country in the African Continent is currently receiving low or absolutely no tourist arrivals thanks to the continuous conflict to oust the reigning President Colonel Muammar Gadaphi It is bound by neither time nor place. Tourism is heavily reliant on infrastructure and peace. This is because individuals visit news places or simply engage in tourism to quench their thirst to sample the environment different from theirs thus brings monotony of residing in one place for their entire life. Tourism is divided into two broad categories namely; domestic and foreign. Domestic tourism refers to the internal visits conducted by citizens within their national boundaries. Visiting a waterfall within an individual’s country qualifies to be domestic tourism. On the other foreign tourism is the travelling of individuals from their mother country to other countries for tourism purposes. Foreign tourism concentrates on the use of air transport from one nation to another. Tourist attraction therefore refers to a physical or cultural feature in a particular place that is unique in its own way and tourists have preference on it. For example, national parks, cultural sites and lakes. In essence, tourist attractions are divided into two broad categories namely; built and natural tourist attractions. Built tourists attractions are manmade features whereas natural tourist attractions represent God-made features such as waterfalls, wildlife among others. The tourists’ attraction features propel a region’s economic development as a result of increased foreign exchange and also creation of employment opportunity for citizens. It’s worth noting that there is a huge difference between a tourist destination and tourist attraction. For example, the waterfall can be a tourist attraction but it does not qualify to be a tourist destination. A tourist destination therefore refers to the actual location of the tourist attraction. Additionally, tourists’ attractions market their regions in the world as popular tourist destinations (Tapan P., 2007). Tourist attractions play a significant role in the wealth distribution in any country. In most cases, tourist attraction sites are found in the remote areas of a country far away from the city thus enhancing economic and social development of the locals when tourists come calling for their services and permission to access the attractions. According to Dasgupta (2011) tourism is among the largest industries that propel economic, social and political development in a country. This is realized through taxes and fees levied against tourists in the attractions and destinations. “Tourism spending within India in 2001was US$ 22 billion”(Dasgupta 2011 p.221). Tourist Attraction: The Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China is a classic example of a tourist attraction in the world and is documented to be among the Seven Wonders of the World. Based in China, the vast stretch of the wall was constructed (Evans 2006) approximately 1,600 years ago for the sole aim of protecting China’s sovereignty against external attacks. It was during the reign of Zhu Di who had succeeded Emperor Qin Shi in 221 B.C that the wall was strengthen and stretched from the initial 5,000 miles approximately 8,851 kilometers to a worrisome 1,400 miles with the inclusion of more watch towers. The wall entered history books as one of the great wonders of the world after enlistment by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) under the auspices of World Heritage in 1987. The great wall passes through deserts, mountains, grasslands and plateau. However, continued human interference and lack of proper maintenance of the tourist attraction caused the wall to be in ruins. Maintenance of tourists’ attractions is paramount and should be given priority since it spills down and makes the country hosting the attraction becoming a tourist destination thus increased foreign exchange. Tourism Attraction: The Great Wall of China: Segmentation Tourist attraction play a significant role in the overall social, economic and political development as a result of the revenues accrued from tourist activities. It is therefore vital to maintain the tourist attractions from damage. This can be through guarding the place Segmentation in tourism circles refers to the acquisition, retention and development of proper ideals to attract the tourists. For example, segmentation enables tourism to remain a competitive industry as tourism stakeholders’ burn the midnight oil to come up with competitive hospitability initiatives. This arises from the tourists’ need to have a dynamic attraction not giving them similar scenes that they are accustomed to. The segmentation process acts as an avenue to attract more visitors to the tourist attractions. In this regard, the tourism attraction under scrutiny implements a needs-based segmentation approach. This means that the strategy to market the tourist attraction should provide top-notch solutions that are unique in their own ways to avert unhealthy competition and remain at the top. Segmentation further implies that the tourist attractions managers should come up with factors or variables that are above bond that are aimed at influencing the visitor cum tourist to choose to visit a particular place and not the other. According to Dasgupta (2011) the classical market segmentations are divided into four broad categories namely; geographical, demographic, psychographic and behavioristic. A geographical approach to segmentation concentrates on the location preferences of their customers. They segment tourists based on their locations postulating that a person’s location play a fundamental role in the selection of a tourist attraction. For example, people living in China can be less interested to visit the Great Wall since it’s within their geographies. Demographics, on the other hand, put emphasis on the tourist’s variables such as age, sex, social class and income among others. Demographics are determinant to the tourism attraction selection process. For instance, young people would be more eager to visit the Great Wall of China to actually experience the historical information unlike the old generation. Psychographic analyzes the tourists purchasing behavior with their personality. The wealthier a tourist is, the more he/she will buy. Behavioristic segmentation technique concentrates in the understanding of the consumer behavior of a tourist to an array of tourist attraction selection. For instance, it chronicles the selection process of the Great Wall of China as opposed to an array of other attraction sites at his/her disposal. Marketing communication (Kimmel 2005:1) incorporates advertizing, public relations, sales promotion and personal selling. In light of this, marketing communication involves the application of the named techniques for the realization of maximum benefits within any business organization. In tourism, marketing communication plays a fundamental role in the overall realization of tourists in the tourist destination to view numerous tourist attractions such as the Great Wall of China. The advertizing is aimed at providing ample information that automatically changes their preference. Marketing communication is primarily a change agent used in the business circles so as to win the hearts of many tourists. In the domestic market, application of marketing strategies is very simple as it only targets the tourists within their geographies through print and broadcast media. However, foreign marketing communication to woo the foreign market takes shape through information communication technologies tools such as internet and web 2.0 that includes social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace among others. The social networking sites have become a popular haven for marketing communication from not only the tourism sector but other areas of development thanks to social networking sites reach-effectiveness. Varey (2002:4) argues that marketing is divided into two sides namely; the offer and the inquiry. The offer refers to the ability of a marketing communication strategy to provide the necessary information that the audience requires. For example, a tourist agency should arguably provide incentive information to help in creating awareness to the tourists. The inquiry, on the other hand, means learning from others on ways to deal with tourist attraction. For instance, a rival group sending spies to gather the methods used by the other competitors to gain success. This then leads to the application of proper mechanisms to realize success. Promotions/Publicity as a marketing communication technique Publicity is a communication ideology that represents the speaking up and awareness creation strategy that is aimed at serving members of the public with information about a particular problem, situation or activity (Muzaffer U. and Daniel F. 1993). Publicity can be either local or international and is effectively done using the media and renown persons. For example, Usain Bolt, the famous 100-meter track record holder and world champion can be used to propel tourism in their country during the world champions through branding. Publicity helps in the dissemination of knowledge to uninformed public. Moreover, publicity also applies in the realization of tourist attractions. In a classic example, locals in the precincts of the Great Wall of China are encouraged to conserve and protect the area through publicity messages through televisions and billboards. With globalization, information communication technology has become the new venture of publicity and promotions. Social networking sites such as Facebook and twitter have become household names with increased new members each passing day making it a preference point for its reach-effectiveness. Publicity through use of information communication technology tools is turning to be a critical avenue to generate enthusiasm to visit the tourist attractions. For instance, most visits to the Great Wall of China tourist attraction site are continuously recording high number of tourists thanks to Marc Zuckerberg’s innovation- Facebook. Lack of proper information and enough financial backing are critical factors that determine the success of failure of tourism. This is because many people across the world reel with high cost of living as a result of the global financial problems thus making tourism a leisure activity. In this regard, it’s paramount to come up with strong marketing communication strategies in an effort to encourage tourism both locally and internationally. The strategies are important for the realization of cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance perpetuates the acceptance of anything that a person’s like or practices. A drunkard believes beer is bad only because he does enjoy drinking. However, this might be contrary to another person who does not drink and thus will reject anything to do with alcohol. On the other hand, publicity also serves as an avenue to alter the perceived ideologies of tourism. This is whereby publicity calls on all members of the society either rich or poor to visit the places for knowledge and leisure. Fyall and Garrod (2005) argues that the actualization of promotions is a viable marketing communication strategy. In promotions, the various governments and non governmental organization should encourage the visitation to tourist attraction site in a bid to ensure that individuals develop an urge to travel within and without their geographical locations. For instance, gambling for free tickets to visit a place will generate income and at the same time encourage domestic and foreign tourism within their geographies. According to Babu (2008:149) publicity through promotions help tourists to be aware of the various services offered at a tourist attraction detailing the advantages of visiting such sites. For example, the Chinese government in collaboration with non governmental institutions should scale up publicity through their emissaries. It is simply marketing China as a tourist destination and the Great Wall of China as the tourist attraction. Moreover, the application of promotions as tourist attraction phenomena deals a great blow to tourism. This means that many individuals around the globe are unaware of the various tourist attractions. Besides, tourism is not among the priorities in many governments evidenced by the mere budgetary allocation towards tourism. Promotions serve as baits to persons to embrace tourism as a leisure activity. Moreover, promotions also propel tourist attractions since people become knowledgeable thus fostering development in the tourism sector within their regions or internationally. However, promotions should be applied tentatively to avoid conflicting with the set up policies that govern the tourism industry. In most cases, terrorists, human and drug traffickers have continued to disguise themselves to tourists. Although tourist attractions are advantageous, the need for more should not in any way compromise or jeopardize tourism activities. This can be achieved through the provision of qualified security personnel at all entry points to avert such catastrophes to an extent that the immigration laws are tightened. Tourism attraction: The Great Wall of China: Theoretical perspectives Marketing communication (Blythe 2009:42) is the best approach to tourism attraction local and foreign awareness. This is because the marketing communication theory purports to deal with customer perception that is simply put as image building. For example, the Olympic Games held in various countries are used to showcase culture and character of countries and serve as ingredients of marketing tourism attractions in their respective countries. In light of this, marketing communication strives to foster an active customer. This means that the managements of the various tourist attractions such as the Great Wall of China labor to market their attractions in the application of marketing communications strategies such as advertisements that clearly portray the attractions coupled with affordable costs. Marketing communications also takes shape in ambient advertising techniques. Ambient advertising details the implementation of strategies aimed at meeting more customers. For instance, printing information on tee-shirts worn by athletes in competitive races to arguably and effectively market their attractions (Hackley 2005). The place marketing (Briggs 2001) framework theoretical framework endeavors to synchronize tourism attractions to be more marketable to outside audience and at the long run lead to tourism development. This is through renovation, promotions and affordable accessibility of the tourist attractions to ease the social and economic hurdles. The place marketing approach underscores the importance of developing the place so as to generate growth. For example, ensuring that the infrastructure leading to the tourist attractions are well kept serving as bait to the unsuspecting tourists. This chronicles a type of marketing that propels the needs of target users as opposed to target beneficiaries. According to Kwon (2008) the social marketing theoretical approach explains that the target audience should be adequately accomplished to avert misconceptions. For example, the tourist attractions should be well marketed both locally and internationally to increase tourist arrivals. The Great Wall of China is documented as one of the greatest wonders of the world, thus creating a marketing platform for the attraction. Even without much ado, individuals take to themselves to go and visit the Great Wall of China to quench their thirst of knowing the world rated tourist attraction. Conclusion The paper has extensively dealt with the distinction between tourist attractions and tourist destinations and gone forward to analyze the Great Wall of China as an incredible tourist attraction in China that is worth emulation by other countries. Moreover, the paper has also input several marketing communication and publicity issues that influence the success or failure of a tourist attraction. Recommendation Preservation of the tourist attraction leads the pack of achievements that the government and non governmental ought to focus upon to realize a sustainable tourism economy. This includes setting up of infrastructure facilities such as roads and communication equipments in a bid to attract tourists from all corners of the world. This will ease the communication and transport problems that have become synonymous with many tourist attractions in the world. In most developing countries, road networks are a clear problem that has hindered the growth of tourism. In the wake of Barack Obama’s rise to presidency of the American country, his father’s native background Kenya recorded a beehive of activities although tourism was being hampered by poor infrastructure. Tourism should be a collaborative affair whereby all parties involved should come up with adoptable policies that will name and subsequently govern tourist attractions. For example, tourist attraction sites should be sealed away from public misuse and guarded and name as country’s heritage sites. Finally, tourism should be advocated as the ideal unifying event across the globe. List of References Babu, S. (2008). Tourism development in India: a case study, New Delhi, India Blythe, J. (2009). Key Concepts in Marketing, CA: SAGE Briggs, S. (2001). Successful tourism marketing: a practical handbook, (2nd Ed.), London: Kogan Page Dasgupta, D. (2011). Tourism marketing, New Delhi, Dorling Kindersley Evans, T. (2006). Great Wall of China: Beijing and Northern China, Beijing: Bradt travel. Franklin, A. (2003). Tourism: an introduction, CA: SAGE Fyall, A, and Garrod, B. (2005). Tourism marketing: a collaborative approach, Canada: Channel View Publications Hackley, C. (2005). Advertizing and promotion: communicating brands, London: SAGE Johan W. 2001, Introduction to travel and tourism marketing, NY Juta and Company Ltd, 2001 Kimmel, A. (2005). Marketing communication: new approaches, technologies, and styles, Oxford: Oxford UP Kwon, J. (2008). Factors influencing residents’ attitudes towards tourism marketing as a development strategy, Michigan: Michigan State University Muzaffer U. and Daniel F. (1993) Communication and channel systems in tourism marketing,NY: Routledge Tapan P., 2007 Tourism Marketing, India: ICFAI Books Varey, R. (2002). Marketing communication: principles and practice, NY: Routledge   Read More