The Effects of Ecotourism in Developing Nations - Essay Example

Given what is known from this case study, would you recommend to the island ities that they prioritize their marketing to attract Nordic and Russian Markets, which already constitute a firm base, or attempt to build new markets in more distant European countries? For the island of Saaremaa in Estonia, the highest number of tourists arrives from the nearby Nordic and Russian markets. Among the rest of the world, Saaremaa is a little known destination and hence, it is not very popular. However, as this island hopes to expand its place in the tourist map of the world, it is imperative to think of innovative ways of marketing. One key question that needs to be addressed when thinking of the marketing efforts is whether to prioritize their marketing efforts at the established markets or look at newer markets such as distant European countries. As per the context established by the case, the tourism industry is changing very rapidly. The tourists are much more open to traveling to distant places to discover new and little known, but exotic destinations (Yong, 2006). Therefore, with regard to Saaremaa, the marketing efforts should be prioritized to build new markets. Europe is well known for exotic and small destinations and hence, the level of competition is high. Therefore, to attract customers from a new market, it is necessary to have a high focus on building the brand, ensuring sustainability as well as in targeting the right market segment. For example, Saaremaa is famous for its natural beauty, its rich history as well as the sweet-sour bread and beer. Hence, the brand Saaremaa for tourism should adequately encompass these different aspects. The initial marketing efforts can center on advertising Saaremaa to create awareness and the subsequent efforts can center on introducing specific theme related holidays such as an exotic theme that centers on the sweet-sour bread and beer in the food category or a historical theme holiday destination. Focusing on new markets will also make the destination popular among a wider set of customers who have various preferences of holidays and hence, it would open Saaremaa’s uniqueness to customers who prefer such destinations. However, it should be ensured that any steps of market expansion should not result in overcrowding. In addition, any word of mouth marketing may already work in the existing markets which will ensure that there is a steady flow of tourists from the already established markets. Therefore, prioritizing the new market will bring in customers from newer markets and at the same time, the customers from the existing markets will continue to visit because of the existing efforts and word of mouth (Holloway, 2004). 2. Should Saaremaa improve access by ferry or plan on the construction of a bridge to the mainland, as a means of expanding tourism? Or, conversely, should the island authorities aim to limit the appeal of the island in its existing isolation, by aiming to boost income from a smaller base of visitors to this island destination? One of the highlights of Saaremaa is how it is exotic and little known, but extremely beautiful and a perfect holiday get away. Therefore, on one hand it is important to build the tourism sector, it should be done in such a way that the pristine surroundings are not disturbed and the serenity of the place is not at risk because of overcrowding. Therefore, to sustain this exoticness and serenity, it is necessary to ensure that the place does not degrade in standard because of overcrowding. Overcrowding may mean more revenue because of increased crowd influx, but it also can result in pollution, higher crime rates, more buildings and development (Doan, 2000). It can also mean that the natural beauty as well as tourist spots no longer provides peace and tranquility, thereby taking away the charm from the place. Hence, it is recommended that appeal of the island should be maintained by ensuring that there is some amount of isolation. In such cases, the challenge is how to improve the tourism industry without getting a higher number of tourists. The solution to this predicament is that the level of revenue should be increased from the smaller base of visitors. Therefore, a limited market segment should be identified and exotic and high end packages should be designed for them so that there is a higher income from a limited crowd. Saaremaa’s tourism promotion activity should be aimed at an upper middle class and the elite class to get the maximum profitability. To sustain this model, it is also necessary to provide them with top class facilities so that they are willing to spend money in the area. Therefore offering extremely customized and personalized services instead of mass tour packages can be the most effective method of improving the revenue from tourism and making it a sustainable model for profitability. In the long term, this destination can aim to become a holiday get away for people who find it affordable. In this manner, the hallmark of the place, that is its pristine environment and purity would remain preserved and at the same time, the tourism sector would receive a boost with the help of the higher income from the elite and upper middle class market segment. 3. The case study briefly touches on the appeal of the island as a port of call on Baltic cruises. At present, this is very limited. Could the port and island be made to appeal to more cruise companies, and how would this appeal be phrased? What development and support would a cruise company require if it were to consider introducing the island as a port of call? Saaremaa serves a port of call on Baltic cruises for a limited number of ships. One of the ways to improve the tourism revenue would be to expand its appeal by marketing it as port of call for a higher number of cruise ships. To exploit this opportunity to its full potential, it is necessary to attract the cruise companies so that they consider Saaremaa as a good option during their cruise. To get the attention of these cruise companies, the key is to market the unique selling points of the destination of Saaremaa and how it could be different from the other port of call that they would go to during the cruise. In most of the places that serve as ports of call, the mass appeal is much higher, so Saaremaa can prove to be the little exotic island which would help the tourists get relaxed in the pristine beauty of the nature. For example, the appeal can be focused around providing a great combination of exotic location, quiet country along with a peak at the historical monuments while they enjoy good food and beer. Additionally, the facilities to harbor the ship and provide additional maintenance can also be an attractive factor for the cruise ship companies to consider Saaremaa as a port of call during the cruise. It is also very important to provide support and infrastructure to introduce this island as a port of call. The basic facilities such as good anchorage location, easy transfer to site seeing places and necessary amenities should be in place. Apart from providing good comfort to the passengers, there should be facilities to reload the cruise ship with any essential needs that they may have. For example, since the island is famous for its beer and sweet and sour bread (Taylor and Karin, 2008), supplies of these products can be replenished on the ship from the island. In addition, facilities for providing fresh supplies of fruits and vegetables can also be arranged. The tourism board can also take this a step further and offer a couple of customized options that tourists can do on the land depending upon their interests and aptitude. Such additional measures can provide a good revenue boost to the tourism sector of the country. 4. Reflect on what new marketing insight you may have gained as a direct result of engaging this case study? As a result of going through the case study, the two major insights that were gained were that of sustainability and customer focus. It is clear the any marketing effort of tourism industry in Saaremaa should be sustainable at multiple levels. Firstly, sustainability of the business model should be considered. Questions such as is the targeting accurate, will this segment provide enough profitability should be taken into consideration (Sinclair, 2003). The sustainability of the available facilities and any the requirement related to its maintenance for specific period also should be estimated. Furthermore, it is also necessary to consider the sustainability of tourism from an eco friendly perspective because the most unique feature about this destination is its serene nature. Therefore, understanding the importance of a sustainable model with regard to improving the profitability and mapping out the various variables that are involved is an important aspect that comes out of this case study. Another key marketing insight is customer focus. Customer focus does not merely mean providing better service to the tourists. The first aspect is to narrow down the customer pool and focus on the right audience. Depending on market estimations around revenue and profitability, a customer base that has the potential to spend a higher amount on the vacations should be identified. Once this market segment has been identified, the next step is to target these particular customers (Dwyer and Edwards, 2000). Hence, any advertising campaigns or steps taken to attract customers should have focus on this particular target market so that they appeal to the right audience. While arranging for the tourist facilities, the demands, the requirements and the expectations of the segment should be identified and these must be arranged. In addition, the tourism sector should also provide much more flexibility as well as customization when they provide customer service. Such a high level of customer focus at every stage has proven to be a very successful marketing insight not just in terms of customer satisfaction but also in terms of targeting the right audience. Getting these steps would result in higher profitability and a satisfied and steady customer base. References Doan, T.M. (2000) The Effects of Ecotourism in Developing Nations: an analysis of case studies. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 8(4), 288-304. Dwyer, L. and Edwards, D. (2000) Nature-Based Tourism on the Edge of Urban Development. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 8(4), 267-287. Holloway, J.C (2004). Marketing for Tourism. New York: Prentice Hall Sinclair, D. (2003). Developing Indigenous tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 15(3), 140-146. Taylor, N and Karin T (2008). Saaremaa: a History and Travel Guide. Tallinn: OU Greif. Yong, M (2006). Tourism Marketing. Beijing: Science Press, 2006 Read More