Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

Write about something that you are passionate about.

If you're really having trouble finding a topic maybe you should consider switching majors to a field that really excites you and where you will have more ideas for topics than you have time to pursue them.

Pick a region/country. How can you attract a different demographic to visit? What new positioning can you attempt, using what new tools, and in what specific ways?

Hi Nadine,

Trying to write about marketing and tourism management is like looking at the universe and trying write about two galaxies, that you can barely see. You have to sharpen the focus of your telescope until you can clearly see the planets within the solar systems of the selected galaxy and then select a planet that you want to research.

In other words, what do you like about tourism management? What aspect of that profession captures your imagination? Once you have that, how does that overlap or fit within the marketing realm. Once you decide how marketing can improve that aspect of Tourism Management, you should be well on your way to writing your dissertation.

I hope this helps,

Andy Fracica

Hi, Nadine.

Here are a few ideas.

1. The travel industry suffered a body-blow when the world economy collapsed. Airlines were laying off tens of thousands of workers; business travel dropped way off; consumers cancelled vacations, all because of job and market uncertainty. This left many travel companies with an urgent need to find customers, and the solution to this enormous, global problem was marketing. You might find executives at large, mid-sized and small (e.g. travel agencies) travel companies to interview, to determine which marketing approaches and initiatives were most beneficial in facing the difficult economy, and why. The resulting paper would be good entree for you in either marketing or travel corporate arenas.

2. In the same economic scenario, how did marketing provide tourism solutions to unfavorable economic times when governments were involved? Tourism bureaus (usually funded by governments) from global capitals to Caribbean islands used an array of approaches. What worked? You might want to contrast this with the marketing approaches used by the private sector in the same locations, e.g., large hotel and major resort groups. Who did better -- governments or private sector? Why?

For both groups, fast solutions were required. Did the government or private sector turn to social media (with any success?) and online advertising (Google Adwords?), or did they remain rooted in older approaches (print and television advertising)? What role did promotional pricing play compared to other marketing choices? Again, you might interview decision-makers from those early days.

3. Building on the one- location idea, how did the various travel sectors (airlines, rail, hotels, rental cars, resorts, cruise ships, tourist attractions, tourism boards) use marketing to attract customers in a challenged economy? Analyze the approach of each sector, measuring successes, mistaken judgments, etc. Use a country in the center of the storm, and large enough to have plenty of data for each sector, such as the UK. What new marketing learning emerged as a result of those efforts? What path should marketing leaders take in similar future events?

对于任何上面的场景,如果你图mprovement in tourism business, did it relate more closely to the trajectory of marketing activity performed by tourism interests, or to the general trajectory of the surrounding economy in the region? Did any tourism interest initially slash their marketing budget, and if so, did that dampen their recovery? Did any entity double their marketing budget, with what impact? Bottom line, did marketing matter to tourism over the ensuing year, and if so, how, why, and how much?

Hope those thoughts are helpful in joining marketing and tourism together in your dissertation. Good luck to you.