Globalisation: this is when different nations interact with one another among people, companies and governments. It is a system that is supported by information technology and motivated by international trade and investment (The state university of New York, 2015).
Forms and examples of globalization in tourism
Tourism has become global in many different forms. An example is the airline industry has become liberal and has allowed for market entree for private transporters, the development of international alliances, privatization, rearrangement of government-owned airlines, investment in foreign carriers, and airline partnerships at the national level, joint undertakings between airline companies or between airlines and equipment producers, and subcontracting (Ezeani, 2016).
Based on the world recession, tourism has decreased in the sense that tourists travel closer to home simply because they do not have enough money to go to very far places. The same when it comes to businesses, they do not go global as much as they used to due to the world economy. However, it is essential for a company to go international in order to survive (statssa, 2016).
When going global ToGo needs to consider the different countries in which they wish to operate and the forces that may affect their global integration and marketing such as:
• Multilateral trade agreements
• Converging market needs and wants and the information revolution
• Transportation and communication improvements
• Product development costs
• Quality
• World economic trends
• Restraining forces
• Leverage
ToGo also has to focus on factors including society, culture and global consumer culture such as:
• Attitudes, beliefs and values
• Religion
• Aesthetics
• Dietary preferences
• Language and communication
According to Statistics South Africa (2012) majority of South Africa’s tourists are males (50.8%) with females being only (39.5%). There are multiple reasons why people like to visit South Africa, mainly for holiday purposes due to the following:
• Affordable
• Natural beauty
• World-class facilities
• Adventure
• Good weather
• Rainbow nation
• Diverse experiences
• Wildlife
• Freedom struggle
• Responsible tourism
2.2 Keegan and Green (2015:256) state that exporting marketing is a process that allows a business to increase its market share. It is when a company continues to operate in their own country but also looks for external markets to operate in and sell their products and services in.
Export marking requires ToGo to:
• Have an understanding of their target market environment (in Thailand and Colombia).
• To make use of marketing research and identify their market potential.
• To make decisions concerning their product design, pricing, distribution channels, advertising and communications.
There are certain advantages of the booming tourism industry in South Africa:
• Tourism makes up a great share of a nations income and this is why it has been encouraged so much in recent years.
• It creates employability, especially for the locals.
• Tourism allows for a country to show off its specialities
• It helps a country build its infrastructure as well as education.
• It can provide economic incentives.
• Visitors endorse world-wide links, which can provide more business and cultural connections in the medium to long term (Soaploxie, 2015).
I think it would be wise for ToGo to focus on expanding into Colombia and Thailand due to the fact that they are developing countries and it will be relatively easy to adapt and grow within these countries. They both have very beautiful tourist attractions which will apply a lot of demand for tourist consultants.
(The telegraph, 2016).
Colombia Thailand
Reasons to visit and operate An ideal destination for backpackers, Colombia has much to offer; whether you are looking for an affordable destination where you can make your money go further (and put off returning to that desk job), want to experience the amazing Amazon rainforest, while away the hours on a beautiful beach, or visit one of the thoroughly modern cities; there really is something for everyone. Thailand is a wondrous kingdom, featuring Buddhist temples, exotic wildlife, and spectacular islands. Thailand is a Southeast Asian country.
If you like your beaches to contain white sand, meet with crystal clear turquoise water and have snorkelling & scuba diving opportunities. Along with a fascinating history and a unique culture that includes delectable Thai food and massage, Thailand features a modern capital city, and friendly people who epitomize Thailand’s “land of smiles” reputation.
Medellin is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in South America (often called “city of the eternal spring”) with plenty to see and do; a superb mixture of modern, bustling city, whilst retaining its unique heritage and beauty. It’s known for tropical beaches, opulent royal palaces, ancient ruins and ornate temples displaying figures of Buddha.
Due to it being around 5,000 ft above sea level and near to the Equator, it benefits from a subtropical climate and year round warm temperatures (the lowest around 15°C). In Bangkok, the capital, an ultramodern cityscape rises next to quiet canal side communities and the iconic temples of Wat Arun, Wat Pho and the Emerald Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Kaew).
Covering over 1 billion acres and surrounding areas in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, the Amazon Rainforest produces around 20% of the world’s oxygen and contains half of the planets estimated species of plants, animals and insects. Nearby beach resorts include bustling Pattaya and fashionable Hua Hin
Colombian Infrastructure
Since 2011, Colombia has been reinforcing its image as a promising emerging country. Thanks to its market size, the extent of its natural resources (particularly emeralds, coffee, oil and coal) and a historical reputation as an exemplary debtor, the country has been experiencing strong growth for many years (average of 3% over the last thirty years). It has also adopted sound macroeconomic fundamentals. Since 2015, Colombia has experienced a moderate economic slowdown due to low oil prices and monetary tightening to reduce inflation. It is expected to grow by only 2.8% in 2016, but a pick up is expected thereafter, due to Government infrastructure projects and private investment growth (Colombia politics, 2016).
National Government’s goal over the next four years is to create 250 thousand new jobs in the tourism sector Multiple tourism categories were mentioned for further development including both ecotourism and coastal tourism. The President is also noted that cultural tourism would be a focus. Historical towns of the country will be highlighted and support for events like the Flower Festival in Medellin and Cartagena Hay Festival will continue to receive further tourism grants and assistance (Colombia politics, 2016).
Thailand infrastructure
Thailand’s record tourist arrivals and public works spending are expected to offset weak domestic demand and global economic drag, keeping Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy on course for 3.1 percent growth this year, the central bank governor told Reuters in an interview.
The trade-dependent economy has been hit hard by the deteriorating global economic environment and the slowdown in demand for exports, which the Bank of Thailand (BOT) expects to decline for the fourth consecutive year in 2016.
Tourism has been one of the few bright spots in the Thai economy, and government spending on big ticket infrastructure should give a jolt to the sluggish economy later in the year, BOT Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said.
The Government has laid a foundation for long-term stable and sustainable economic and social development for the country, focusing on improving and restructuring key basic factors, including human capital, infrastructure and logistics, science, technology and innovation. It has also put emphasis on reform of laws, regulations and administration to ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability. Important works undertaken relating to transportation infrastructure are as follows:
Development of transportation infrastructure with the aim of enhancing competitiveness, providing foundation for long-term national development, and promoting connectivity so as to make Thailand a regional hub (Hong Kong Trade Development Council, 2015).
It is important for ToGo to be aware of the documentation needed to come to South Africa.
There are countries which are required to apply for visas but are exempt from visa fees, e.g. India, Colombia, Mexico, etc.
Foreigners who wish to visit South Africa must have passports / travel documents valid for thirty (30) more days after the intended return date from South Africa. The passport must contain at least two (2) unused (blank) pages labelled Visa when presented at the Embassy or Consulate; one page is for affixing the visa or permit at the Embassy/Consulate and the other page is for endorsement of entry/departure stamp by the South African Immigration Services. Note: Visa pages referred to above do not include pages reserved for Endorsements, Amendments or Observations (SouthAfrica.info, 2016).
2.3 according to van der Schyff and Kamffer (2016:33) there are a number of segmenting options that ToGo can choose from such as:
Geographic segmentation – this is when a company separates its target market according to area, such as, cities, counties, regions countries as well as international regions. A market can also be divided based on rural suburban areas and urban areas.
Demographic segmentation – a company divides its market according to their age, race, religion, gender, family size, ethnicity, income, and education. This helps an organisation target their market more precisely.
Behavioural segmentation – this is when a business targets its markets according to their knowledge, attitudes, as well as their use and response to the product or service.
Psychographic segmentation – separating your market into segments based on personality traits, values, attitudes, interests as well as the different lifestyles of customers. This places an advantage for companies due to the fact that they can pay more attention to the product design and marketing.
Positioning statement – this is how a customer perceives a companies’ product, service or brand and how well the organisation fulfils the customers need. It is the process of identifying and appropriate market gap and getting it recognised in that area.
Targeting is the process of evaluating the segments and focusing market efforts on a country, region, or group of people that has significant potential to respond. ToGo needs to focus on young travellers due to the fact that the world is revolving more and more around technology and the youngsters are more knowledgeable when it comes to technology.
Standardised marketing: it’s the ability for a company or business to use the same marketing strategy from one country to the next, and across various cultures (Study.com., 2016.)
Concentrated marketing: is a strategy whereby a product is developed and marketed for a very well defined and specific segment of the consumer population (Bhasin, 2016).
Differentiated marketing: Differentiated marketing is a type of marketing strategy where a firm offers products or services to a number of market segments and develops separate marketing strategies for each (Marketing binder, 2014).
ToGo should make use of differentiated marketing simply because they are expanding and thus will be offering their service to a numerous amount of segments. However they should create different marketing strategies for each especially because they are going to be in different countries.
2.4 When it comes to the current times we live in, it is important for any business to focus their marketing in a digital perspective. Online branding is a very important tool to make use of and to focus on because this is where the brand is perceived in the eyes of the customer and thus will create how the customer thinks about the brand/product (positioning statement).
Product: this is something that the business can offer to a market in order to either attract attention, attainment, use or consumption that may satisfy a need or a want (van der Schyff, 2014:43).
ToGo needs to assess the needs of its customers in Colombia and Thailand. They can then develop new products if need be, once they have received feedback.
ToGo delivers a service however which is a product but it comes in the form of actions and aids offered for sale that are intangible, hence it is not something that can be owned (van der Schyff, 2014:43). The service that ToGo delivers is the fact that they help tourists plan vacations and organise everything down to the finest detail.
There are implications of the internet that may affect the product element of the marketing mix which include:
• Options for varying the core product.
• Options for offering digital products.
• Options for changing the extended product.
• Conducting research online.
• Speed of new product development.
• Speed of new product diffusion.
Pricing: this refers to how the organisation decides on the prices of its products/services. When it comes to digital marketing there are two approaches that organisations make use of and that is either to have low prices in order to create a customer base or simply keep the same prices just transfer them online. ToGo needs to keep their prices constant in South Africa but they should lower them when they move to Colombia and Thailand in order to first create a customer base. Once that is done they can slowly increase their prices (Chaffey and Chadwick, 2012:20).
There are implications that ToGo may face such as:
• Increase price clearness and its insinuations on differential pricing.
• Downward weight on price.
• New pricing tactics.
• Substitute pricing structure and policy.
Place: this is typically how the organisation dispenses the product to the customers. In order to reach all potential customers in a digital manner, ToGo will have to advertise using many different digital promotional channels, excluding their own website. ToGo can also ensure that they work with Google to ensure that they are one of the first site options to pop up when searched (Chaffey and Chadwick, 2012:20).
There are implications that ToGo may come across when focusing on place:
• Place of purchase.
• New network arrangements.
• Channel clashes.
• Virtual businesses.
Promotion: this is how the customer has been informed about the business and its product or service by making use of different marketing communication tools.
According to Chaffey and Chadwick (2012:20) the internet can be used to communicate/promote in multiple ways:
1. Taking advertising, direct marketing, public relations and sales promotions and applying then in new and improved ways.
2. Evaluating the different means the internet can be made use of when it comes to the buying process and each of its stages.
3. When it comes to the customer relationship, different marketing tools can be used to help in each stage. It includes attracting visitors to your website and then gaining repeat visitors, this can be done through the following methods:
• Have online competitions in order to remind visitors of why the site is worth visiting.
• Send the visitors e-mails informing them about the latest offers.
• It is important to constantly update your information, have new competitions and offers.
It would help ToGo if they invested in:
1. Place promotion compared to site formation and upkeep.
2. Online advertising methods in comparison to office advancement.
3. Different online campaign techniques.
Bibliography
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