TABLE OF CONTENTS The heart of the marketing concept is to provide consumers with products that satisfy their needs and desires. Therefore tourism marketers must learn what potential tourists need and desire from the visiting experience. The only way for tourism marketers to obtain this information is by conducting research.
The official definition of marketing research can be found on the American Marketing Association website, www.marketingpower.com.It states:
Marketing research is the function which links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information. This information is used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve our understanding of marketing as a process.
This definition defines four ways that a company or organization can use research. The definition states that research is what "links the consumer, customers, and public to the marketer." This type of research involves the tourism marketer in analyzing the external environment for any changes that will affect the tourism industry. The tourism marketer has already conducted this type of research through environmental scanning. Second, the definition states that research can be used to "generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions." This research would assist in determining if the organization's strategic choices regarding product features, price level, promotional message, and distribution are meeting consumer needs. For tourism marketers this research would focus on determining tourist preferences. Other research, designed to "monitor marketing performance," is used to confirm if the organization is meeting...
