How to Use Marketing Mix Build Chiang Rai Province - Dissertation Example

?How to use marketing mix build Chang Rai province as a destination during winter season Historically Chiang Rai has always been overlooked.Political reasons are cited as the reason for its ignorance. Chiang Rai is situated in northernmost part of Thailand. It remains cool throughout the calendar year. The place is characterized by the presence of thick forest, elephant camps, rivers and mountains. Apart from the natural beauties, the place also consists of historical and cultural heritage. The province is doing its possible best to attract new visitors especially during the winter. This report highlights on the areas such as the marketing mix which can be adopted to make this place as a favorite tourist destination. The report also highlights the way by which a tourist spot such as Chiang Rai can be developed. Another important aspect of the research paper is that it will show how segmentation in tourism can be achieved. The key findings of the project are how marketing mix influences the decision of a tourist. The other important findings are the data which shows the number of visitors coming to Thailand in a calendar year and also the expected number of turnouts in the years to come. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Literature Review 5 Research Question 10 Research Methodology 13 Conclusion 15 Reference 16 Bibliography 18 Appendix 1 19 Appendix 2 21 Introduction Siam was the name during 1940 to what we today know as Thailand. The country of Thailand resides in the heart of South East Asia. The country comprises of brilliant arts, green islands, an exciting nightlife and a tradition of openness towards the visitors. The nation is known to many as the home of some delicious cuisines, wonderful silks and some of the magnificent temples. These factors portray the great culture of the country. It has never been occupied by the European powers, possibly the only country in south- East Asia to have escaped it. The structure and geography of the country is that it is divided into 4 natural regions: the mountains and forests of the north; the vast rice fields in the central plains; the farm lands of the northern plateau and Tropical Island in the southern peninsula. Politically Thailand is again divided in 77 provinces such as Ang Thong, Mae Hong Son and Lop Buri, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai among others. While the capital of Thailand namely Bangkok is not a provincial area but it is referred as a special administrative area (Central Intelligence Agency, n.d.). All the provinces are governed by a Governor who is appointed by the ministry of external affairs. The only contrary factor is that the Governor of Bangkok is chosen by its people through voting (Unescap, n.d.). A number of countries in Asia believe that tourism plays an important role in the economic and social development of a country. It generates foreign exchange earnings, employment and also assists in other factors. Tourism plays a major part in the economy of Thailand, contributing around 7% of the total GDP. Every year Thailand is visited by around 14 million visitors. The visitors come from different parts of the world (The Irrawaddy, 2010). The reason for this massive tourism development of the country is mainly due to the stable political situation and the availability of air transportation in Bangkok which serves as the gateway to this international venue. Industries like hotel and retail gets immensely benefited by the tourism industry. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has launched various programs to promote the tourism sector in their country as well as internationally with their catchy slogans like “Unseen Thailand” and “Amazing Thailand”. According to them there were nearly 19.09 million tourists who visited Thailand in 2011 which also means 19.8% growth as compared to the previous year. The tourism revenue generated around $23.08 million, which was the highest ever tourism revenue in a same calendar year. The tourists were mainly from Malaysia which accounts 2.47 million followed by China (1.76 million), Japan (1.2 million), Russia (1,014,493), South Korea (1,014,292), India (916,787), Laos (887,677), Australia (854,064), Great Britain (844,221) and the United States (684,073). Tourist from these aforementioned countries nearly account for around 66.6 % of the total foreign tourist (ASEAN-China free trade area, 2012). It is also proposed by the Director General of Thailand that the number of foreign tourists will increase by 8-10 % in 2012 which will take the figure nearly to 21 million visitors. Literature Review A literature review is an essential part of a report. A literature review on the other side can be described as the summary of sources which have been used for conducting the research process. In this research paper it is predicted that a substantial amount literature will be taken into account. The sources will be mainly books, earlier published articles on the subject and electronic sources. Since tourism and development of a tourist spot is a vast area, a lot of books and articles can be found based on it, but the book which will be taken into account includes “Thailand Tourism” by Arthur Asa Berger. In this book tourism is defined as another burden which a person must bear in order to live life to the fullest extent (Berger, 2007, p.1-2). The other important book which is considered here for taking the reference is by Jeong Dong Lee and Almas Hesmati with their book titled ‘Productivity, Efficiency and economic growth in the Asia pacific region’ (Lee & Heshmati, 2008, p.84-85). The electronic sources will include the official website of Thailand Tourism. Geographically Chiang Rai consists of rivers such as Mekong, Mae Sai and Ruak. The other part of the province is characterized by mountain ranges like Khun Tan Range, Phi pan nam Range and Daen lao Range. Further, the province has been divided into 18 districts. The major transportation includes rail services, bus services and also air services from Chiang Rai International Airport. The airport directly connects it to the business hub of the country, thereby making the transportation more flexible. The place consists of many tourist attractions like the Golden triangle, the area where Thailand meets Laos and Myanmar. Other places of interest includes Kok river, which is 130 km long and flows through the heart of the province, the best time to visit the province is during the middle of April when they celebrate the Thai new year. With the availability of all such amenities still it is unable to find the apex position in the travel list of the visitors. This place can be converted into a regular tourist destination especially during winter by adopting an appropriate marketing mix. A marketing mix is generally a tool for marketing products, but the same concept can be applied for tourism as well. Marketing tourism products is somewhat different from the usual products because it is being sold as an exercise of experiences rather than a regular tangible product. Chiang Rai can be developed into a good tourist place in winter by applying a suitable marketing mix for tourism. The Product mix includes components like places of attraction, facilities and transportation. The main draw for attracting tourists includes natural sites and historic interest and cultural events. Chiang Rai has places of interest like The Golden triangle, Wat Pharo kaeo, Kok river, Wat rong khun, Doi tung etc. The climate during the winter remains cool, so this is the appropriate time for visiting the place. The facilities include accommodation and food. Chiang Rai has some of the best hotels in its region such as Wiang Inn, Rimkok Resort, Palm garden and Katilia Mountain resort to name a few. Since the main aim of study is to make it as a tourist destination during winter, organizing some large-fair along with cultural program may attract visitors. There can be creation of museums as well which will also attract visitors. The Place strategy in tourism is about the place where it is situated, but there is no need of a strategy if the spots are natural. Chiang Rai is also a natural spot so focus should be given to the areas of transportation and communication facilities. The transportation includes rail services, air services and bus services. If some dedicated tourist bus is provided then it will help the visitors in travelling smoothly. Attention should also be given to the maintenance of ecological balance of the surroundings, which can be in the form of a pollution free transportation system. The Promotion strategy plays an imperative role in highlighting a tourist spot. May be the place has it all, but the visibility will increase only when it is promoted effectively. The promotion of Chiang Rai can be done through TV advertisement, News paper advertisement, Radio advertisement etc through the use of slogans like ‘Inside Chiang Rai’ or ‘Incredible Chiang Rai’ or appointing a brand ambassador for the place. One of the mixes of promotional mix i.e. public relation plays an important role in case of a tourism industry. It helps in projecting the image of the place. Regular use of photograph and articles in the newspaper or internet will increase the tourist attraction. The Pricing strategy of a tourism sector is a crucial part. It includes the cost a tourist to bear for staying in that place. The strategy should be done keeping in mind that there will be visitors from different walks of life; some will prefer spending luxuriously and on the contrary some prefers to spend economically. So in Chiang Rai there should be availability of food and lodging both for the higher income and average income group, so that the affordability factor holds true. Since Tourism marketing is a part of Services marketing therefore apart from the usual 4p’s of marketing mix the other extended version of services mix are also added. The extended 3 P’s of services mix are People, Process and Physical evidence will also hold a strong point in making Chiang Rai province into a tourist destination especially during winters. In a tourist spot the peoples of that place, play an important role in attracting the tourists. Apart from the natural existences and cultural heritages, Hospitality factor play an important role for a tourist in choosing the destination. People refer to the direct person with whom a visitor directly comes in contact. People in services marketing is significant, it contributes to the variability of the tourism product in the context of service encounter. The element ‘people’ takes into account the interaction and the relationship between the tourist or visitors, the employees of the organization who will be conducting the tours and the host community. Interaction and the relationship among these three groups impacts heavily on the level of satisfaction experienced by the visitor, the employees of the tour conducting organization and the acceptance of the host community to make their place a tourist destination (Garrod, Fyall, 2005). Usually the People of Chiang Rai province is concerned about the hospitality. The Hotel staffs are trained specially to look after the satisfaction of visitors. An example can be cited where a tourist confesses that the hospitality of that place was remarkable even the hotel staffs provided some additional items which was not a part of the usual package. The best thing is that they did not even charge a single penny for that. With such experiences it is clear that people of that place are very warm. In addition to the people element the process element is responsible for the final delivery of the service encounter. In the context to tourism process refers to the facilities for hotel booking system, payment system, queue management, ticket booking facility and also systems such as transport booking, room delivery services also fall in this category. These sets of attributes contribute towards the satisfaction of the tourist and sometimes play the vital role for word of mouth reference by the visitors to their friend and family. Word-of-mouth reference holds a major ground in the promotional aspect of a tourist spot. In a survey it has been observed that maximum people visit a certain place if they come to know of some good word-of-mouth about that place from their friends and family. The Hotel reservation system is at par with the international standards in Chiang Rai province, the hotels provide facilities such as online booking, tele booking and booking via an agent. The transportation includes car services from hotels, availability of local transports like bus and rail which conducts packaged trips. So the ‘process’ element of the service mix qualifies with high marks in chiang Rai province. Apart from the mentioned elements of the service marketing mix another important element is the Physical Evidence. At the beginning it is very much important to understand the importance of physical evidence and the responsibility it holds in the overall marketing strategy (Verma, 2012, p.194-195). Physical Evidence is used to meet variety of objectives in the context of tourism marketing mix. It is responsible for communicating the quality, positioning and the process of service delivery. Physical Evidence is everything which is physically exhibited to the tourist (Rao, 2004, p.49-48). It includes the physical environment, the communication mediums, transportations etc or in other word it comprises of all the tangible attributes. It is a suitable method of providing or showcasing the positive features to the potential visitors on the basis of the quality of the product. As in case of Chiang Rai province the physical evidences which are mainly used includes the golden triangle, the hotels and other physical amenities pertaining to the spot. Research Question The research topic or research question is an important part of a research paper. A research question is not like a usual question, rather it should be designed in such a way that it should be answered (Andrews, 2003, p.1-3). This portion belongs to the respondents who will be chosen for focus group. But there are questions which a researcher must answer while conducting the research. In other words it tries to solve objective of the research. In this topic about how to make Chian Rai province as a tourist destination during winters can be framed by answering the following question. How marketing mix influences the decision of a tourist? A tourist always loves the natural existence and the cultural heritages of a place. He is always in search of a piece of history. The natural existences like river, ocean, mountain, valleys, forest always acts as the attractive factors. There are tourists who love to have adventure on their trips such as river rafting, mountain trekking, adventurous safari in forests, sky diving etc. Such practices will always remain intact. Tourism is a mixture of products and services. Therefore a tourist who is choosing a particular place to visit first evaluates its facilities and offerings which are guided by the marketing mix of that place. The visitors look for the natural beauty of that place, cultural happenings, availability of standard hotels, availability of food, transportation facility, communication facility, the host community, and also the amount which needs to be spent for staying in that place. Except the natural existence which is not in the hands of a marketer all the other factors are dependent upon the marketing mix. So the influence of marketing mix in the decision of a tourist is very high. What should be the development plans for Chiang Rai province in order to make it a tourist destination? Chiang Rai is located at the base of Thailand’s high mountain ranges. It is the northernmost province of the country. Since it is situated at an altitude the weather remains moderately cool throughout the year. The visiting places include the Golden triangle, Wat rong khun, kok rivers and Wat phra kaeo among the other sites or places of interest. Some development programs should be taken for making Chiang Rai province as the place of interest for the tourist during the winters. The development programs can be summarized below: Development of infrastructure such as construction of new hotels with world class facilities such as availability of swimming pool, gymnasiums etc. This should be undertaken keeping in mind about the high class tourists from western countries preferring luxury. The other infrastructure development program includes construction of Nursing homes, well connected roads and 24*7 availability of helpline for tourist. Construction of some theme parks, Zoos, museums can also be helpful in attracting tourist. Cultural Activities can be undertaken during the winter season which may attract a gallon of visitors during this period. It can be any programs or events which portray the local culture and display its rich history. Local Market plays an incredible role in attracting visitors. There can be some special product of that place such as handlooms, clothes etc. which will be sold during winters to attract visitors. What should be the special measures to be taken for making Chiang Rai favorite especially during winters? The place can be promoted during winters in a different way as it consist of different types of facilities such as playing golf, availing a safari, mountain trekking etc. Therefore during winters the place can offer different types of tourism i.e. a kind of segmentation is possible. The segmentation will be done keeping in mind the different category of tourists which may visit the place. The different offering can be as follows:- Golf Tourism Golf is a hugely popular sport and is played as a leisure activity and enjoyed by millions around the world (Adair, Ritchie, 2004, p.117-118). Santiburi Chiang Rai is one of the best golf courses in Thailand. It is just 15 minutes from the main city. Thailand Tourism authority has provided data which tells that around 600,000 golf visitors comes to Thailand from different countries of the world. So, more effort should be given to strengthen this segment and strong promotion should be used. Adventure Tourism Adventure tourism is a large framework which comprises of all type of commercial and outdoor activities with a significant element of excitement (Buckley, 2009, p.4-5). The province offers adventures in the form of Trekking, Rock climbing, Mountain biking, Caving and a safari in forest. So, this segment holds a massive potential for success, if communication is properly radiated to the potential visitors. Research Methodology From the perspective of society every aspect of human behavior has some problem. There were problems in society which can be removed by properly researching the subject. Therefore research becomes an utmost necessity for a society to survive. Research is an indivisible part of human knowledge (Khan, 2011, p.1-2). But in order to fulfill the requirement of research a proper methodology of research is to be followed. A research methodology can be defined as procedures and techniques which are applied to find out the result of the research question (Panneerselvam, 2004, p.2). It is considered as the most essential part of a research. A research which is not following a proper methodology holds minimal chances of reaching the key objective. However in this context a proper research methodology will be followed for the key issue of making Chiang Rai Province as the tourist destination during winters. In research methodology the first step is to clearly understand the research objectives. The next step followed by this one is the data collection step. In this research a fair amount of secondary research will be performed along with it a small section of primary will also be carried out. In case of primary research a focus group interview will be carried out. A focus group is a group of 8-10 people who participates in a face-to-face discussion on a particular subject (Edmunds, 2000, p.1-2). The interviewers will include the peoples who frequently visit tourist places or traveler. A sample size of 10 peoples will be taken to conduct the focus group session. The sampling would be done by using stratified sampling of the probabilistic sampling technique. The system of sampling may be a bit complex but the advantage of using stratified sampling is that it only focuses on the important set of population and ignores the irrelevant one. The sample will be chosen in such a way that they resemble similarities in their travelling outlook and must hold homogenous characteristics within in the group. The data collection technique will include questionnaire survey. Since the primary research holds a small portion of the research, the number of questions in the questionnaire will also be very less. The questions would be closed ended as it will allow the participants to answer more specifically rather than going into a broader aspect. The advantage of a closed ended questionnaire is that the analysis of the data will be simpler and it will also consume less time (Writing@CSU, n.d.). The respondents will be approached via mail and social networking sites asking their take on travelling and their desire to participate in the focus group interview. Once the set of 10 people has been recognized depending on their position, a place will be considered for carrying out the interview, but if the selected respondents stay far away then an online session will be conducted. In the online process the questionnaire will be mailed to participants to their respective e-mail addresses for getting their responses. Once the primary research section gets over attention will be given to the collection of data from secondary sources. The secondary sources will include data from books, journals and other authentic electronic sources. The final part of research methodology comes in the form of data analysis, in this research a qualitative research will be performed as the subject is more inclined towards the quality of Chiang Tai as a tourist place rather than quantity. Qualitative method analyses data without using the number. Some qualitative research focuses on the meaning through which a person perceives about its environment (Mcleod, 2011, p-3-4). Conclusion The study conducted above divulges that there is a big possibility of transforming Chiang Rai province into a favorite tourist destination during winters. In order to craft that success story a firm marketing mix should be adopted. Since the study is related with the tourism industry apart from using the usual 4p’s of marketing mix the other extended P’s of services marketing mix are to be used. During winter the tourist can be segmented accordingly and products such as Golf tourism, Adventure tourism should be used. The promotion activities should be conducted thoroughly and in order to position the place in the minds of the consumers. So, it can be easily concluded that with a sound marketing mix strategy Chiang Rai can be a destination during winters. Reference Adair, D., & Ritchie, B. W. (2004). Sports Tourism: Interrelationships, impacts and issues. UK: Channel View Publication. Andrews, R. (2003). Research Questions. UK: Continuum International publishing Group. ASEAN-China free trade area. (2012). The tourism revenue a record high in 2011. Retrieved from http://www.asean-cn.org/Item/4402.aspx. Berger, A. A. (2007). Thailand Tourism. UK: Routledge. Buckley, R. (2009). Adventure Tourism Management. UK: Routledge. Central Intelligence Agency. (No Date). The World Factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html. Edmunds, H. (2000). The focus group research handbook. US: McGraw-hill professional. Garrod, B., & Fyall, A. (2005). Tourism Marketing: A Collaborative Approach. UK: Channel View Publications. Khan. (2011). Research Methodology. India: APH Publishing. Lee, J.D., & Heshmati, A. (2008). Productivity, efficiency and economic growth in the Asia pacific region. Germany: Springer. Mcleod, J. (2011). Qualitative Research in counseling and psychotherapy. US: SAGE Publications Ltd. Panneerselvam, R. (2004). Research Methodology. India: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Rao. (2004). Services Marketing. India: Pearson Education India. The Irrawaddy. (2010). Thailand’s economy growing, tourism ‘picking up’. Retrieved from http://www2.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=19147. Unescap. (No Date). Local Government in Asia and the pacific: A comparative study. Retreived from http://www.unescap.org/huset/lgstudy/country/thailand/thai.html. Verma, H. V. (2012). Services Marketing: Text and Cases. India: Pearson Education India. Writing@CSU. (No Date). Advantages of closed ended questions. Retrieved from http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/survey/com4a2a1.cfm. Bibliography Richards, G., & Munsters, W. (2010). Cultural Tourism research methods. UK: CABI. Elliott, J. (1997). Tourism: Politics and public sector management. UK: Routledge. Appendix 1 Questionnaire: To choose the set of` samples of travelers. General Information 1. What is your age? a) Below 20 b) 21-45 c) Above 46 2. Gender? a) Male b) Female 3. Occupation? a) Service b) Business c) Others 4. How often you Travel in a year? a) Once in a year b) not a travel geek c) more than twice If the answer in option b) the participant will not be considered else proceed. 5. When do you prefer to travel during the calendar year? a) Summer b) Winter c) Its Raining 6. What attracts you more? a) Mountain b) Sea c) Others 7. What transport you generally take up for travelling? a) Air b) Water c) Land 8. Would you like to be a part of our focus group session which is scheduled tomorrow? a) Yes b) No c) Would have loved to be a part of it but I am pre engaged. Personal Information Name - Address- Mobile No.- Thank you for your valuable time. Appendix 2 Focus Group Questions 1) What is your take on current tourism industry? 2) What attracts you for travelling a particular place? 3) What are the facilities you look for your destination? Read More