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Tourism and Marketing

Module description

Summary:

This module presents a comprehensive approach to marketing theory and practice within the context of the tourist industry. It starts with the basic concepts of tourism marketing along with the notions of business philosophies and market orientation. Considerable attention is given to understanding the marketing mix and techniques associated with market segmentation within the context of the tourism industry. Emphasis is also focused on the concepts of destination marketing, image-creation and branding. . Other key areas of marketing are also examined, which are intended to provide you with a good grounding in theory and practice. These are: aspects of marketing management including product development and models of dynamic pricing including the ‘name you own’ price model; marketing planning which covers the issues of product-market fit; and market research tools. In addition, the module also considers Social Marketing using examples of attitudes to tourist travel and climate change. It also examines the role of social media and influencers within the context of destination marketing organisations. This leads to an understanding of integrated marketing systems. All of these ideas will be explored in the practical context of a series of case studies and student based exercises - including aspects of international marketing, marketing 'hallmark' events and social marketing in action. There is usually a lecture given by a practitioner in destination marketing .

Additional Information:

Internationalisation

This module gives students an understanding of the impact of tourism across boundaries by using international examples for case studies.

Sustainability

Sustainability is addressed in case studies of green marketing in action and social marketing case studies on climate change. All of the resources for this module are available on the ELE (Exeter Learning Environment).

External Engagement

Previous guest speakers have come from a major tourism marketing organisation and a commercial marketing company.

Employability

In this module students develop their skills in working in a group, presentation, survey design, and they improve their knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods. A number of students from previous years have gone on to work in the tourism industry, hospitality, and destination marketing.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module presents a comprehensive approach to marketing theory and practice within the context of the tourist industry. It starts with the basic concepts of tourism marketing along with the notions of business philosophies and market orientation. Considerable attention is given to understanding the marketing mix and techniques associated with market segmentation. Emphasis is also focused on the concepts of destination marketing, image-creation and branding. Three other key areas of marketing are also examined in this module with the aim of providing students with a good grounding in theory and practice. These are: aspects of marketing management including product development and models of service quality; marketing planning which covers the issues of product-market fit; and market research tools. All of these ideas will be explored in the practical context of a series of case studies and student based exercises – including aspects of international marketing, marketing ‘hallmark’ events and social marketing in action.
The aims of the module are to:

• present a comprehensive approach to marketing theory and practice within the context of the tourist industry and with respect to tourist behaviour.
• develop a good grounding in the theory and practice of four key areas of marketing critical to successful tourism marketing (marketing mix and market segmentation; marketing management, including product development and models of service quality; marketing planning which covers the issues of product-market fit; and market research tools).

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. articulate in detail in oral and written settings, the nature and importance of marketing within the tourism industry
• 2. demonstrate in oral and written work, a systematic understanding of the complex nature of the tourism marketing environment
• 3. critically evaluate the role of marketing within different parts of the tourism industry
• 4. autonomously apply different marketing techniques and datasets to particular practical problems in tourism business research

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. apply and adapt knowledges and techniques from elsewhere in studies of business and management to the investigation, analysis of and presentation of findings on research questions in tourism

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. evaluate and communicate contrasting theories and approaches to tourism marketing through written, oral and visual means
• 7. assemble and synthesize different academic and practitioner material in a coherent and logical format to address research problems

Syllabus plan

• Characteristics and evolution of marketing in tourism
• The marketing mix and strategic marketing
• Marketing management
• Marketing planning
• Market research tools in tourism environments
• Case studies and exercises in tourism marketing
• Marketing ‘hallmark’ tourism
• International marketing
• Green marketing in action
• Tour operators and brand images

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Beirman, D. (2020) Restoring tourism destinations in crisis: a strategic marketing approach.
• Pike, S. (2020) Destination Marketing: Essentials
• Diekmann, A. & McCabe, S. (2020) Handbook of Social Tourism
• Agarwal, S. and Shaw, G. (2017) Heritage, Screen and Literary Tourism
• Middleton, V.T.C. (2009) Marketing in Travel and Tourism (4th edition)
• B.M. Kolb (2006 revised 2017) Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns: Using Social Media for Branding to attract tourists
• McCabe, S. ed., 2014. The Routledge handbook of tourism marketing. Routledge.