The empirical part of the thesis delineates the case company, the new market (China) it is trying to reach and information about marketing strategies for the tourism industry. The results of this study show that the major factors constraining Chinese tourists’ travel to Zambia are due to low market awareness. This is because there is little knowledge about Zambia among the Chinese people and the country’s image in China is not strong and recognizable. The findings of the report are broadly discussed in the latter part of the report; inclusions made from the study have been detailed and recommendations on how the case company can formulate a marketing strategy to make available marketing materials for promotional purposes in China.
Tourists who visit Zambia from Asia only represent the smaller percentage of the international tourists the country receives. Insufficient knowledge about how to enter into the Asia growing markets could be one of the reasons for this low traffic from Asia to Zambia. Recently, the Zambia Tourist Board has been undertaking a series of studies primarily to enable it to understand the Asian tourist consumers’ needs and behavior better. The ZIT believes that this will in turn serve as a legitimate marketing tool for attracting and increasing tourist’s flows from Asia to Zambia. The first Asian country the ZIT is focusing its attention on is China.
There are several strategic reasons for focusing on China; the country has consolidated its status as Sais’s prominent outbound tourism market. According to World Tourism Organization (UNTO) projections, China will become the fourth largest source of outbound travel and the largest tourist receiving country in the world with approximately 100 million outbound travelers by 2020. Besides, Zambia has signed bilateral agreements with China as well as receiving Approved Destination Status (ADS). Samba’s tourism industry has been developing considerably and it has become one of the major sources of foreign exchange earning contributing to the country’ s economy.
Tourism is part of a campaign that consists of many other departments, or branches that Zambia has chosen to promote to help attract tourists and foreign investors into Zambia. 1. 1 Background The travel and tourism industry is vital to Samba’s economy. However, although Zambia has unexploited natural resources for tourism development such as ultra and heritage sites, 8 abundant wildlife, abundant water resources, peace and tranquility, the richness and variety of the tourism products are yet to be known by the rest of the world. Tourism in Zambia is principally operated below its potential, and it is generally poorly planned development has had negative consequences.
There is a relatively low proportion of tourists, particularly Chinese visitors to the country and a short duration of stay which indicates a marketing problem. With the provided background information, it can be expected that the Chinese ours industry will continue to grow within the near future. For the ZIT to achieve a sizeable market share of the Chinese tourism market, it is necessary to promote Zambia as a destination for Chinese tourism. Despite gaining the Approved Destination Status (ADS) from the China National Tourist Administration (CENT), the Zambia Tourism Board has struggled to attract more tourists from China. Zambia has a small market share in the Chinese market which has fluctuated during recent years.
Therefore, the possibility of the Zambia Tourism Board opening an office in Beijing will help promote Zambia as a ours destination for China. It may also increase and enrich Zambia’ s appeal to attract more visitors, create interest, create desire and action from the Chinese visitors and also extend their stay length, and thus, increase their expenditure in Zambia. A plan must be written to understand the fundamental chirography’s of Chinese tourists towards Zambia as a destination and their travel behavior. This thesis can develop effective marketing recommendations, on a strategic level and further interest in Zambia as a national destination in china.
Since international tourism is an intensely competitive market, the ZIT needs to rotate its market share by diversifying its markets, positioning itself as the best tourism destination in Southern Africa and launching new products that are acceptable according to international standards. 1. 2 The thesis was written with the aim of finding an effective marketing strategy in terms of communication and promotion to be utilized by Zambia Tourism Board to launch tourism products and services in its target market China. After many years of poor promotions and marketing Zambia as a tourist destination, the country is at a critical point to market, promote and position itself as a tourist destination where tourists can experience adventure, wilderness, and wildlife in Southern Africa.
Through the agreement made by the Chinese government and the government of Zambia in 2008 January, the ZIT was invited to exhibit at the World Tourism Fair that was held in Shanghai. The reason for the agreement was to help increase awareness and promote Zambia’ s tourist attractions in China. Lack of awareness of Zambia s tourism potential among the Chinese 9 population can be attributed as the main reason behind the low volume of Chinese visitors. In regard of the above mentioned reasons, the author of his thesis decided to conduct research to identify the main marketing and investment strategies that can be addressed in order to heighten awareness of Zambia ‘ s tourist attractions in China.
The ZIT needs to understand the Chinese market, know how to create attractive products and services for Chinese visitors, learn and know how to provide the right hospitality and promote the country appropriately to be able to receive a fair market share. The writer also felt that the research subject is of immense value because, if properly evaluated, it will help the ZIT in several ways. For example, to avoid NY marketing risks or negative publicity before and after entering the foreign market, Zambia should be positioned as a fast growing tourist market with opportunities offered to support the Stab’s global growth. The research also serves as a recommendation for choosing a marketing strategy for the Chinese market. 1. Limitations of the study The research is mainly focused on the marketing planning issues for ZIT. It only offers marketing plan suggestions and does not include the actual budget which would be advantageous for proper implementation. 1. 4 Outline of the thesis Introduce*onј Research0Methodology[] Impracticalities Analysis[] Conclusions Figure 1: Outline of the thesis 10 2 Definition of the terms Advertising: The promotion of goods, services or ideas through paid communications (Harris P 2009, 9). Brand: A name, symbol, term, design or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of a company or group of companies and to differentiate them from competitors (Kettle et al. , 2009, 866).
Cue True: A blend of the values, norms, material and spiritual traditions of ethnically diverse people (besides Zambia 2006, 259) Inbound tourist: An international tourist arriving from another country. (Jennings G, 2001 ,441). Marketing: The process of planning and executing the conception, promotion, pricing, and distribution ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives (Kettle et al. , 2009, 866). Marketing Mix: The marketing activities used to create, communicate and deliver value to the customer. The marketing variables include product, price, promotion, place, people, process and physical evidence (Kettle et al. , 2009, 867).
Marketing communications: These are the means by which an organization tempts to inform, persuade and remind consumers directly or indirectly about products, brands and services they sell (Kettle et al. , 2009, 867). Marketing plan: A written document that details the necessary actions to achieve the organizations marketing objectives (Hellholes S, 2010, 627). Marketing planning: The process by which companies analyses the environment and their capabilities, then decide upon courses of marketing action and implement those decisions. (Hellholes S, 2010, 627). 11 Market Share: The proportion of the available market that is being serviced by an organization (Kettle et al. 2009, 866). Market segments: Portions of the tourist markets that is more or less distinct in their characteristics and behavior. (Jennings G, 2001, 441).
Niche marketing: This is the process of targeting a relatively small market segment with a particular, specialized marketing mix. (Hellholes S, 201 0, 628) Outbound tourist: An international tourist departing from their usual country of residence. (Jennings G, 2001, 447). Positioning: This is how the product or service is perceived in the mind of the customers/ consumers in relation to other products in the market. (Hellholes S, 2010, 629) Primary data: The data collected for the first time for the specific purpose of a particular market research study. (Hellholes S, 2010, 629) Qualitative research: Provides a holistic view of a research problem by integrating a larger number of variables but asking only a few respondents. (Hellholes S, 2010, 629).
Target market: the part of the qualified available market an organization decides to pursue (Kettle et al. , 2009, 869). Tour operators: These are businesses providing a package tourism related services for the consumer, including some combination of transportation, attraction visits, accommodation, and restaurants. Jennings G, 2001,441) Tourism: The sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction among tourists, host governments, universities, business suppliers, host communities, community colleges, origin governments and non-governmental organizations in the process of attracting, hosting, transporting and managing these tourists and other visitors. Jennings G, 2001, 446), 12 Tourism industry: The sum of the industrial and commercial activities that produce goods and services wholly or mainly for tourist consumption. (Jennings G, 2001, 447). Tourism product: It consists of the tourism industry and tourist attractions. Jennings G, 2001, 447). Tourism resources: These are features of a destination that are valued as attractions by tourists at some particular point in time. Innings G, 2001, 447). Tourist: This is a person who travels temporarily outside of their usual environment for certain qualifying purposes. (Jennings G, 2001, 447). Tourist attractions: These are generic or specific features of a destination that attract tourists. Not all attractions are part of the tourism industry. Innings G, 2001, 447).
