TABLE OF CONTENTS Tourism marketers, along with the members of the committee, have now completed important preliminary steps in the process of developing the city's marketing plan. They have analyzed the macro external environment, including economic, demographic, and social factors, to determine if there are positive or negative trends that will affect the success of their tourism plan. For example, they are now aware of the current economic situation and how demographic trends and any changes in values and lifestyles might impact tourist travel. They have also analyzed the micro environment to determine if stakeholders in the community will support or resist the effort to develop a tourism industry.
In addition, tourism marketers working together with members of the committee have spent considerable time and effort conducting a thorough analysis of their city as a tourism product. They have analyzed features of the city's core product, including tourist attractions, historic sites, buildings of architectural significance, cultural and entertainment opportunities, shopping, and sports, for benefits that tourists might enjoy. They have also analyzed the city's supporting product to ensure that the services needed by tourists are available. In addition they have analyzed the augmented product of the city, including its appearance and image, to determine the impression it presents to tourists.
Those working on developing the tourism marketing plan then used a SWOT analysis to make sense of all this data. Using the information from the product analysis, the SWOT analysis helped the committee to determine the strengths and weaknesses...
