Sales and Marketing for Tourism - Essay Example

?Research methods in sales and marketing for tourism Introduction Sales and marketing for tourism require substantial research in order to find out the needs or wants of the tourists and even the business organisations. Research methods could either be quantitative or qualitative and one of them is not superior than the other and vice versa. It depends on what information that needs to be obtained that makes each of these methods more significant than the other. In this paper, the proponent discusses quantitative and qualitative methods of research by comparing, contrasting and appraising them. Furthermore, the proponent provides examples in their application in the tourism sector. Quantitative research method Quantitative research is a common method used in investigating or finding information in various fields of studies. This method ensures that information can be transformed into figures for quantitative analysis. Quantitative research method preserves neutrality and sees to it that there will be no bias since the collected data will be used for quantitative analysis, so it is more numerically measurable (Bennett, 1986; Shi, 2008). In quantitative analysis, there is a need to come up with objective output because a researcher deals with figures and transforms them into essential information that can be subjected to more meaningful interpretation and source of information. One common quantitative research method is experimental method. In experimental method, the researcher could potentially obtain information from certain observations under controlled condition. Thus, there are important things that need to be considered prior to obtaining the most essential information and one of them is to ensure the significance and validity of the entire method used. Quantitative research is quite flexible but its potential drawback could be its not being able to potentially explain all types of phenomena (Muijs, 2004). Qualitative research method Qualitative statements and concepts comprise the body of qualitative analysis (Shi, 2008). Qualitative research method still applies numerical data which potentially include counting and assigning numbers to observations, but the presence of qualitative statement and concepts prevail as its general core foundation. Thus, it may still turn out that all information under qualitative approach cannot be numerical in nature but in a verbal form (Creswell, 2003). Observations which are integral components of qualitative statements and analyses are important in qualitative research method because they would ensure that the analysis will be well presented and the research aim is substantially obtained. An interview for instance regarding certain issue may focus more on understanding the framework of the subject and this could potentially concentrate the analysis on general qualitative information. Qualitative method therefore can be done at multiple levels of analysis (Piekkari and Welch, 2004). This means a researcher could still potentially find information in using this method even at various levels of analysis. An interview or focus group for instance can essentially initiate this because what the researcher needs is to integrate various concepts or frameworks in order to bring the entire analysis at different levels, depending on the actual objectives. However, one general and potential drawback of qualitative method is that the sample size is small and non-random, making findings most likely not conclusive at some point (VanderStoep and Johnson, 2008). The differences It is noted based on the above discussion that both methods of research; the quantitative and qualitative have potential advantages and drawbacks. Furthermore, they are an entirely different approaches; that is why they have significant noted difference. In the case of quantitative method of research such as survey or experimentation, it is important to have remarkable number of samples in order to make certain that the conclusion is conclusive. Sample should be numerically or statistically significant. On the other hand, this may not be necessarily in the case of qualitative research method particularly in the focus group technique. The problem with this is that the sample size may not encompass or represent the entire population or group. In other words, numerical or statistical significance of the entire result cannot be determined as the information should be purely qualitative in detail. Furthermore, quantitative research is quite flexible while qualitative may not as it is substantially more focused on certain issues, groups or information. The flexibility of quantitative research method is what makes it applicable to almost all fields or areas of expertise unlike qualitative research that may usually be employed mostly in social research. In other words, it may be more appropriate to use quantitative research in tourism industry as there are substantial issues regarding this field. However, in sales and marketing, it may be more important to use qualitative research as this would primarily deal more with social issues. Thus, depending on the objectives of the research, either one of the mentioned methods could be helpful at some point. Application in tourism Both qualitative and quantitative research methods are particularly important in sales and marketing for tourism. For instance, sales and marketing for tourism require understanding of consumer behavior which may be complex at some point. People’s behavior is a very important aspect in tourism because this would definitely guide what specific sales and marketing approach an organisation should initiate. In other words, without understanding how or why people or visitors conduct business within the tourism sector, there would be no appropriate strategy to be initiated in order to boost sales, revenue or obtain profit. This particularly would involve substantial observation. For instance, an organisation could investigate people’s behaviors by observing where they would usually want to go. For example, finding out that a great number of them go to recreational activities would mean a promising business venture in the area of recreation. Finding this information seems to be so easy, but the truth behind is that it would require substantial research. In this case, either qualitative or quantitative research method could be applied. Under qualitative research method, there may be no actual counting or numerical information involved. The researcher could potentially use remarkable recording methods such as videotaping, survey or interview. This method depends on the subjective interpretation of the researcher of the data, but it has to be well documented in order to justify claims or actual conclusion. On the other hand, a quantitative research method could be used by formulating questionnaire and taking into account the number of samples that could stand as statistically significant. Experiment could be significantly initiated in the process. The questionnaire should be based on the actual objectives of the study and it should address the research questions. The above case illustrates the fact that both qualitative and quantitative research methods could be potentially used in sales and marketing for tourism. Insight about customer behavior requires substantial understanding of how to capture the best part of this information through either qualitative or quantitative research method. For instance, a study revealing that customer has significant various options in space tourism that could be measurable through their attitude, choice and perception can be subjected to experimentation in order to obtain the required data, using a random coefficient model (Crouch et al., 2009). This experiment is a bit numerical showing that a quantitative method of research could be highly remarkable in sales and marketing for tourism. Furthermore, understanding customer satisfaction as central issue in tourism could be achieved by finding potential influence of one factor on the other (Wu, 2007). This could also be implemented using quantitative research method since it is after of finding positive or negative association between the chosen factors or the dependent and independent variables. On the other hand, the satisfaction obtained by tourists on their experience can be explained by their perceptions (Bigne et al., 2001). This can definitely be initiated using a qualitative research method through survey or questionnaire that contains essential questions that could be transformed into qualitative information. Furthermore, strategies aim at maintaining sustainability in tourism for profit enhancement may substantially be initiated using conceptual framework and the entire discussion may just potentially revolve around it (Kozak and Martin, 2012). This is a form of qualitative analysis that falls under qualitative research method. Using either quantitative or qualitative research method would definitely depend on the researcher and his or her objectives. Conclusion It is important to take note that qualitative and quantitative research methods are vital in sales and marketing for tourism. These methods of research may involve experimentation or focus group or interview that at some point should be considered as common techniques in finding significant information. One important component in tourism that is an integral part of sales and marketing is the people’s behavior. For instance, there are various things to learn about consumer behavior. Thus, in this case, it may or may not be appropriate to use quantitative research method, but a focus group interview or observation may be appropriate which may fall under qualitative research. However, quantitative research method may not be overlooked as it is more flexible than its counterpart. In other words, it depends now on the researcher which methods to use that could ensure meeting his or her objectives. After all, each of these methods, experimentation and focus group for instance, has remarkable function and specific goal. In whichever of these methods the researcher’s goals fall, one method may potentially be superior than the other, but it does not mean the other is hopelessly outmoded. References Bennett, S. (1986) The Quantitative Approach in Political Science: An Introduction. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press. Bigne, J. E., Sanchez, M. I., and Sanchez, J. (2001) Tourism image, evaluation variables and after purchase behaviour; inter-relationship. Tourism Management, Vol. 22 (6): 607-616. Creswell, J. W. (2003) Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. 2nd ed. New Delhi: SAGE. Crouch, G. I., Devinney, T. M., Louviere, J. J., and Islam, T. (2009) Modeling consumer choice behavior in space tourism. Tourism Management, Vol. 30 (3): 441-454. Kozak, M. and Martin, D. (2012) Tourism life cycle and sustainability analysis: Profit-focused strategies for mature destinations. Tourism Management, Vol. 33 (1): 188-194. Muijs, D. (2004) Doing quantitative research in education with SPSS. London: SAGE. Piekkari, R. M., and Welch, C. (2004) Handbook of qualitative research methods for international business. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Shi, L. (2008) Health services research methods. 2nd ed. Clifton Park, NY: Cengage Learning. VanderStoep, S. W., and Johnson, D. D. (2008) Research Methods for Everyday Life: Blending Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Wu, C. H. (2007) The impact of customer-to-customer interaction and customer homogeneity on customer satisfaction in tourism service – The service encounter prospective. Tourism Management, Vol. 28 (6): 1518-1528. Read More