Chapter 13 Travel Purchase

The Tourism System 6th edition Kendall Hunt Publishing Company

Chapter 13 Travel Purchase

Robert C Mill and Alastair M Morrison © 2013 1

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Chapter 13

Travel Purchase

Photos courtesy of Tourism Malaysia

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Contents Examines the buying-process stages that people go

through when making travel choices. Reviews suggested models of how people choose their

travel destinations.





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Purpose Having learned about how people make travel decisions and destination choices, students will be able to suggest appropriate communications strategies.


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Learning Objective 1: Buying Process Stages Describe the buying-process stages that people go

through when making travel decisions.





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The Traveler’s Buying Process


© 2013 Photos courtesy of Tourism Malaysia

Attention and

Awareness

Knowledge and Comprehension

Attitudes, Interest,

and Liking

Evaluation, Preference, and Desire

Intention and

Conviction

Purchase, Trial, and

Action Adoption

The Traveler’s Buying Process




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Attention and Awareness The individual may be unaware of the destination. The destination has to be brought to the awareness or

attention of the potential traveler. A prime function is communications that get the

potential traveler’s attention. Individuals make some decisions, although they have

little information about the destination: Will it meet my needs and wants? Is it possible for me to go?


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The customer’s attention has been caught: Beginning of the search for more information Buyers unfamiliar with the destination need

simplified information The task is to make the potential traveler “goal

directed” (desire to seek more information). The emphasis is on information and sufficient

information must be provided to the potential traveler.





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Attitudes, Liking, and Interest Buyer develops an attitude, a liking, or an interest in or

towards the destination. Positive attitudes should be reinforced. Negative attitudes should be corrected. Attitudes are hard to change: Incoming information is generally adapted to fit the

old attitude. Amount of interest determines the amount of effort

put into the comprehension of a particular message.


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Evaluation, Preference, and Desire Customer develops a preference for a certain

destination area. Decoy effect: The target (intended sale) and the decoy (not

intended for sale) The presence of the decoy should make the target

more appealing





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Evaluation, Preference, and Desire: The Decoy Effect


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Intention and Conviction

The buyer is convinced. The intention to purchase precedes the actual

purchase.





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Purchase, Trial, and Action Barriers to travel likely to be the lack of time or money. A vacation is an experience good so it cannot be

sampled to remove perceived barriers.


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Adoption The traveler becomes a repeat purchaser. The first travel experience is important because repeat

purchases are common, but not after a bad experience. Cognitive dissonance: The feeling of anxiety that the decision made was not

the best decision Can be allayed if the customer is reassured (soon

after purchasing) that her decision was a good one





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Learning Objectives 2 and 3: Communication Strategies and Promotional Techniques at Different Buying Process Stages Explain the effectiveness of different communication

strategies at each stage of the buying process. Identify which promotional techniques work best at

each stage of the buying process.


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Attention and Awareness Mass media advertising is very effective at this stage. The Internet and social network services (SNSs) can

also be effective, especially through recommendations received in the social media.





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Advertising is again important at this stage. Once more, the Internet and social network services

(SNSs) are now playing a more influential role through travel blogs, micro-blogs, and information on traveler review sites like TripAdvisor.com.

Traditional hard-copy vacation guides or planners may also be influential.


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Attitudes, Liking, and Interest This can be encouraged when people see information,

media and other items that support the conclusions they have made from their information searching.

The Internet and social network services (SNSs) can be a key here in forming attitudes, liking, and interests in certain vacation destinations by discussing and sharing opinions with like-minded people.





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Evaluation, Preference, and Desire Most effective advertising at this point: Testimonials Comparison advertisements.

These testimonials can also be found on social network services and on the Web.

Traveler review sites can also play a role in helping potential travelers decide on their final preferences.


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Intention and Conviction

All promotions that are supportive of the potential traveler’s decision to go to a particular destination will be effective at this stage.

Sales promotions that provide an added incentive to make the purchase can also be instrumental (e.g., early-bird specials).





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Purchase, Trial, and Action Marketers need to use promotions that help people

overcome perceived or real barriers to travel. Personal selling can be highly effective at this point. Again, special sales promotions that offer added value

or overcome people’s time constraints can work well.


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Adoption Promotions that reassure travelers that they have

made good decisions work well at this final stage. Again testimonials are effective, whether these come

through the media or the Internet/SNSs. Keeping in touch with travelers through e-mail, SNSs,

and other means is also very important.





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Buying-Communication Processes Interaction The type and amount of information sought varies by

the tourist’s experience level and motivations. Marketers should try to present the buyer with the

best solution to the problem…with the lowest risk. To measure a change in buyer attitude, it’s necessary to

do a survey both before and after the campaign.


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Buying Process Feedback

Each stage in the process is a prerequisite for the next: Each higher stage tends to reinforce the lower stages Satisfying the visitor reinforces each stage

More travel experience makes for fewer reservations about travel

Most travelers begin to plan trips only 30 days before departure: Destination marketing may be wasted on buyers who

plan in so short a time





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Learning Objective 4: Destination Choices and Selection Models Describe some of the models that have been suggested to explain how travelers choose destination areas.


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Information Search Behavior Theoretical Approaches (Bieger and Laesser, 2004) Psychological, motivational, individual characteristics

approach: Push and pull forces. Cost/benefit or economics approach: Seeking

information to reduce risk. Process approach: Focus on the process used to search

for information about destinations.





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Destination Choice Model (Moscardo et al.) Traveler and socio-psychological variable Destination marketing variables and external inputs Images of destination areas Destination choice Destination areas This model may be overly simplified.


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Destination Choice Model (Moscardo et al.)





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Learning Objective 5: Vacation Sub-Decisions Describe the series of sub-decisions that make up how

a vacation decision is actually made.


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Vacation Sub-Decisions Where to stay, how long to stay, what to do? Over the lifetime of the marriage, the decision power

swaps from one spouse to the other. Vacation decision making is becoming a joint affair,

instead of the domain of just one spouse. Vacation dates are usually determined by job and

school dates.





© 2013 Photos courtesy of Tourism Malaysia

Family Vacation Decision Making

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Influence of Children Children affect: Whether to go on vacation What dates to go Where to go Where to stay What to do

Children usually perceive that the final decision rests with both parents





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Learning Objective 6: Vacation Sub-Decisions Explain the influence of family life-cycle stages on

vacation sub-decisions.


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Influence of Family Life Cycle on Vacation Sub-Decisions The order of vacation sub-decisions and who makes

them varies by family life cycle stage. Married less than 14 years: Joint decision making;

where to go followed by whether to go. Married 14-20 years: Husband dominates decision

making; whether to go followed by where to go. Married 20-30 years: Wife dominated decision making. Close to retirement: Husband dominated. Married over 40 years: Wife dominated decision

making.





THE TOURISM SYSTEM

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Chapter 13

Chapter Summary Highlights

Before making travel bookings, people go through a buying process consisting of a series of stages.

Tourism marketers can help “lead” potential visitors through this process by the kinds of messages they design.

There is also a process that people use to select destination areas for travel. The perceived activities and benefits offered by alternative destinations

may play a key role in determining destination choice. The travel decisions and decision-making processes that people use are not

static over time. The decision to travel is actually composed of a series of sub-decisions, in

which several people’s input affects the decision.


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Chapter 13 Travel Purchase