Marketing For Sustainable Tourism

Tourism marketing has typically been seen as exploitative and fuelling hedonistic consumerism. Sustainability marketing can, however, use marketing skills and techniques to good purpose, by understanding market needs, designing more sustainable products and identifying more persuasive methods of communication to bring behavioural change. This book summarises the latest research on the theories, methods and results of marketing that seeks to make tourist destinations better places to live in, and better places to visit. It shares evidence on the motivations, mechanisms and barriers that businesses encounter, and on successes in changing consumer behaviour and pursuing sustainability goals. Particular attention is given to the methodologies of sustainable tourism marketing, to the subject’s breadth and complexity, and to its many innovations. Further research is called for to fully understand what contextual aspects influence these pro-sustainability interventions to achieve which outcomes in other settings, in order to validate some of the exploratory studies discussed, and establish the feasibility of scaling up pilot studies for more general use. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

The aim of the Special Issue is to discuss the main current topics concerning marketing for sustainable tourism with reference to territories (i.e., tourism destinations, protected areas, parks and/or natural sites, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, rural regions/areas, etc.) and tourism enterprises and/or organisations (i.e., destination management organisations, hospitality enterprises, restaurant enterprises, cableway companies, travel agencies, etc.). In destinations where natural resources are pull factors for tourism development, the relationships among local actors (public, private, and local community), as well as marketing choices, are essential to develop sustainable tourism products. To this end, the Special Issue encourages papers that analyse marketing strategies adopted by tourism destinations and/or tourism enterprises to avoid overtourism, to manage mass sustainable tourism (as defined by Weaver, 2000), and to encourage and promote sustainable tourism in marginal areas or in territories suffering lack of integration in the tourism offer. Special attention will be given to contributions on the best practices to manage territories and/or enterprises adopting sustainable marketing strategies.

Tourism marketing has typically been seen as exploitative and fuelling hedonistic consumerism. Sustainability marketing can, however, use marketing skills and techniques to good purpose, by understanding market needs, designing more sustainable products and identifying more persuasive methods of communication to bring behavioural change. This book summarises the latest research on the theories, methods and results of marketing that seeks to make tourist destinations better places to live in, and better places to visit. It shares evidence on the motivations, mechanisms and barriers that businesses encounter, and on successes in changing consumer behaviour and pursuing sustainability goals. Particular attention is given to the methodologies of sustainable tourism marketing, to the subject’s breadth and complexity, and to its many innovations. Further research is called for to fully understand what contextual aspects influence these pro-sustainability interventions to achieve which outcomes in other settings, in order to validate some of the exploratory studies discussed, and establish the feasibility of scaling up pilot studies for more general use. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

Looking ahead to the 21st century, Sustainable Tourism explains the current thinking process that underlies the emerging international principles of more sustainable development in travel and tourism. Using international illustrations it draws on experience and good practice as they are being increasingly applied around the world in the late 1990s. In sharp contrast to the problem analysis approach adopted by so many authors to this subject, this book is focused on the pro-active role the private sector industry can play in partnership with the public sector to achieve solutions through its day-to-day operations and marketing, expecially in product enhancement and quality controls. Case material, contributed by senior professionals in the industry, include: *Kruger National Park, South Africa *Quicksilver Connections, Barrier Reef, Australia *Edinburgh's Old Town, UK *Ironbridge Gorge Museum, UK *Rutland Water, UK. Industry illustrations are drawn from British Airways, Grecotel, Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts, the International Federation of Tour Operators, P&O and TUI. Professor Victor Middleton has had some thirty years' international experience of marketing practice covering most of the private and public sectors of travel and tourism. He holds appointments as Visiting Professor at Oxford Brookes University and University of Central Lancashire. Dr Rebecca Hawkins runs her own business specialising in environmental aspects of tourism projects and has undertaken a number of pioneering programmes in this role. She was Deputy Director of the World Travel and Tourism Environment Research Centre at Oxford Brookes University, where she worked with Victor Middleton.

Cultural attractions play an important role in tourism at all levels, and attract huge numbers of tourists interested in heritage and the arts. Cultural Heritage Tourism has positive economic and social impacts but can also have negative impacts on communities and regions. This book draws together and links ideas of tourism from sustainable marketing perspectives and embeds it within a heritage management setting. Through a discussion and analysis of existing literature and practices this book aims to propose a marketing strategy framework grounded in sustainable principles that can be used to sustain and preserve the authenticity of cultural heritage for future generations, whilst appealing to the suppliers, the regulators, and the consumers. The book first explains the dynamics of cultural heritage with its authenticity underpinnings, marketing, and tourism, and proposes a strategic praxis drawn from core sustainable principles. This is followed by a pragmatic examination of the proposed framework from the shaper’s (provider’s) perspective. The material presented in this book is not merely an agglomeration of documented secondary research, but the theoretical concepts are grounded in empirical research and interactive discussions with students and the travel and tourism industry. A variety of heritage institutions across the globe are used as starting points to test the applicability of the proposed paradigm: these include museums, historic house museums, heritage hotels/resorts, festivals, and heritage merchandize. This is a timely offering to a growing and vibrant area of research; what is most pertinent is that it is a thorough and fresh take on the topic with primary research included. It will find a place in student materials for a variety of courses and it should be read by practicing academics and researchers.

In this book, we introduce the themes and approaches covered in the issue Sustainable Tourism Marketing. Its objective was to analyze the main contributions made as a result of research related to sustainable tourism–marketing management and current trends in the field. This book gathered articles about the marketing of destinations, and the marketing and communication management of companies and tourism organizations from a sustainable tourism perspective.

Destination branding and marketing form the backbone of tourism industry growth, but it is increasingly important that the strategies employed consider and promote sustainable solutions. This book provides a comprehensive set of tools and techniques for branding and marketing for sustainable tourism development. It blends tourism and marketing strategies with practical, innovative information technology solutions and a psychological perspective, providing illustrative case studies and examples to aid understanding. Addressing opportunities and challenges across the field, it also reviews how different types of tourism such as community based, accessible, film, agricultural and cultural-heritage tourism entail unique issues for development.

The continuous growth and expansion of the travel sector has brought about a greater need to understand and improve its various promotional tactics. Effectively employing these methods will benefit all manner of travel destinations and attract a larger number of tourists to these locations. Emerging Innovative Marketing Strategies in the Tourism Industry is an authoritative title comprised of the latest scholarly research on effective promotional tools and practices within the tourism sector. Featuring expansive coverage on a variety of topics from the use of information technology and digital tools to tourist motivation and economic considerations, this publication is an essential reference source for students, researchers, and practitioners seeking research on the latest applications, models, and approaches for promotion in the travel industry. This publication features valuable, research-based chapters across a broad range of relevant topics including, but not limited to, consumer search behavior, customer relationship management, smart technologies, experiential tourist products, leisure services, national brand images, and employment generation.