Public Relations and Promotion in Travel and Tourism Essay Example

Mediterranean Tourism Destination

Mediterranean is the key tourism destination all over the world, which is flocked with millions of people yearly, particularly, the Mediterranean coasts. The leading tourist destination of the Mediterranean region is the coast, where the concentrated area receives 30% of worldwide tourist arrivals. The population that visits this place is expected to grow by 2025 to approximately 235 to 335 million. In summer, the tourism activity is at its peak, which coincides with the time and the lowest availability of natural water (Pavlovich 2014). The satisfaction of the ever-increasing thirst for water is found in the extraction of groundwater and storing it in dams that serve the increasing number of visitors. The destruction and degradation of water ecosystem, in places such as rivers, has much contributed to the fragmentation, drying out of wetlands and rising of groundwater levels. The rising of groundwater level causes the disappearance of habitat and affects the human communities, because water that is used for irrigation and drinking is becoming saltier (Pavlić 2014). It may lead to abandoning or the requirement of treatment, thus, negative impact on both community and habitat.

The increase of tourists may lead to a reduction of water by 50%, because each visitor uses approximately 350 to 900 litres every day. It is equivalent to a total of 273.000.000 cubic meters, based on the forecasted increase of the number of tourists and related drinking water by 2025. The region has used the seaside as the tourist development model in the summer holidays, to attain its quantitative goals (Prior & Beckley 2007). The 25,000km of coastline is urbanised, which is beyond the critical limit. The increase in the arrival of the international tourist comes from different countries, where, 84% are from Europe, particularly, western and northern countries. The largest market is in Germany, which is followed by France, the United Kingdom and Italy (Oksiutycz & Enombo 2011). The destination tourists from Spain, Italy, Greece and France are almost 80%, and its 1/3 of its revenue is generated through worldwide tourists. This paper will analyse the use of public relation and promotion in the Mediterranean tourism destination.

The Role and the Scope of Public Relations as a Promotional Tool

Public relations is a detailed form of communication, which has special application in tourism. Public relation is a communication model with the main resolutions of creating a recognisable public image (Puh 2014). Its objective is significant in tourism, especially in the formation of a positive image for a given destination or an entire country as a tourist destination.
The public relation, as a promotional tool, acts as a public picture policy to the Mediterranean destination (Nemec Rudež, Sedmak, Vodeb & Bojnec 2014). The destination’s executives and public relations strategists should work collectively to draft an overview of how the Mediterranean should be perceived and how it should display a positive picture.

It should arrange outreach events that promote a destination profile or lend its name to charitable events, which present the attitude of the destination. It develops the media relations as a core function, which is enhanced in arranging interviews with key persons in the location (Ni 2006). Again, it is receiving questions from the reporters and drafting the press release to notify the media of the destination’s achievements and events.

The public relation should ensure that the tourism destination is utilising social media in building its image (Minghetti 2001). It uses Twitter to feed information, as well as YouTube channels and Facebook pages, which are the vital means to connect with potentially new stakeholders and customers. The public relation can get early warning of any emerging problem or trend through monitoring public comment, concerning the tourism destination.

The public relationship helped in handling emergencies, because the Mediterranean destination might be stricken by a dangerous event, which can ruin the public image of the destination. Public relation professionals should ensure that the tourist destination repairs the damage to its image by communicating how it should deal with the issue and restore the control of its image.

The Diversity of Publics or Audiences, the Current and Potential Visitors and Other Stakeholders within A Travel and Tourism Context

The Mediterranean tourists come from diverse places where, 84% tourists are from Europe, particularly western and northern countries. The largest amount of tourists originated from Germany followed by France, the United Kingdom and Italy. Approximately 80% of Mediterranean tourism comes from France, Spain, Greece and Italy (Luttrell 2013).

Auditing Of the Internal and External Environments within the Mediterranean Tourism Destination

The auditing of the interior location is undertaken by carrying out the SWOT analysis of the vacation’s industry destination.

Strength

The Mediterranean tourism destination has a clear attractiveness of coastal areas, which has reduced the negative consequences and lowered the seasonality. The audit showed that the destination is an attraction pole for Europeans and does not include non-European tourists. There is a consideration for the safety of the tourists during their travel or tour decision-making process (Litvin, Smith &Blackwell 2012). The main touristic assets in the coastal area are the quantity, value and quality of the cultural and natural heritage. The coastal destination has different development apart from tourism, such as the gastronomy cultures and agricultural production is of great quality. The examples of gastronomy cultures include fresh food, Mediterranean diet, wine and oil.

Weaknesses

The different legal framework for managing the quality standard that has led the creation of common approach and rational is difficult in the coastal tourism in the area. There is no uniformity of common management strategies in production, but the tourist perception and understanding can enhance the uniformity of standards in the destination, as a quality service (Biddle & Biddle 2013). Private and public stakeholders do not often support and actively promote large new investments, because most of the destination areas are mature tourism destinations, thus, their infrastructure and structures are old (Sha 2011). Most of the coastal tourists have a negative image perception of any tourism destinations regardless of their satisfaction with their visits, which can lead to negative impact for the destination in the end.

Opportunities

The development and creation of touristic products is an opportunity to diversify by evolving the coastal destination and extending the tourism season. It can promote the increasing of the loyalty of tourists and lead to the attraction of new types of tourism. The adaptation of stakeholders to fresh tendencies is important for the competiveness and survival of a destination (Khodarahmi n.d.). There is a continuous change in the coastal destinations such as the segments, corporations with other destinations and supply opportunities to facilitate the accessibility and sustainability.

Threats

There are several ecological hazards, which include the coastal corrosion, deteriorating of seawater situations, deprivation of sea fronts, and over-utilization of the ordinary legacy. Again, there is pollution, which is contributed by the alterations of the coastal shape by the people and extreme weather conditions. Therefore, the traditional and normal legacy can be damaged and is the quality sightseeing asset (Dujmović 2014). The change can negatively affect the coastal countryside and layout and affect the development of tourism in the area.

Auditing the External Environment

The external environment is audited by the Porters five forces and PESTLE analysis, the five ports force are:

Supplier Power

The price of the destination input is increased by the power of the supplier, which is based on the vendor’s ability. The destination has several suppliers of its key inputs, thus, has a strong power of suppliers with quality products and service. The destination has a strong control system over the suppliers, because they deliver their orders on time and within the specified period (Stoker 2014). There is a reasonable cost in switching from one supplier to another.

Buyer Power

The destination customers can bring down the price because of a less number of potential customers to the tourism destination services (Biddle & Biddle 2013). There is low rate of customers switching from the destination services to the related tourism destination.

Competitive Rivalry

There are numerous contestants in the business, but the tourism station offers high value of the conveniences. The consumers and suppliers contribute the change in the cost and the destination’s customer loyalty is good.

Threat of Substitution

There are several noteworthy facilities, which can be substituted by the customers and the destination has other unique conveniences that are not available in other destinations

Threat of New Entry

The power of other competitors to enter into the market is determined by the industrial factors, including, the cost and time of entering the market and competition. The economies of scale in the destination of tourism is large in number (Armstrong & Ritchie 2008). There is a strong and vast amount of protection that has been installed for the key technologies.

The PESTLE Analysis

• Political

The tourism destination is facing influences on its economy since the nation has been imposing new obligations or levy on its visitors, which affect the generation of its revenue. The political factors, which can affect the destination include economic policy, tariff policy and trade tariffs that is levied by the nation in the course of the economic year that can affect the tourism environment (Waymer 2013).

• Economic

The factors that affect the economy include inflation rate, foreign exchange, interest rate and economic growth pattern of different economy, which will influence the tourism destination price of the services and products. It can also change the purchasing power of the customer, thus, changing the demand/supply models for that economy.

• Social

The social factors are scrutinized by the social setting of the market and instrument determinants, such as the cultural trends, political analytic and demographics.

• Technological

Technological factors involve innovations, which may influence the market situation and operation of the industry.

• Legal

The legal factors can affect the external and internal environment of the destination, such as the purchaser laws, labour laws and protection values.

• Environmental

These are affected by the surrounding condition, which can be habitat and human beings. The PESTLE analysis is significant in some industries, especially tourism (Azzopardi & Nash 2013). The environmental factors that affect tourism industry include climate, geographical location, weather, environmental offsets and global changes in climate.

A Public Relations Plan

The objective of public relation plan is enhanced in the tourism destination objectives.

Public relation plan is undertaken through seven basic elements such as:

• Analysing the situation. The Mediterranean destination should undertake research on their current condition and identify areas of modification and expansion.
• The destination should establish the objectives that will present the results of the campaign
• Determination of the targeted population, the destination should scrutinise its customers diversity and ensure that the concentration on those potential clients who do not have the information concerning their services are considered ( Alegre & Pou 2008).
• Design the memo to be passed to the public in order to provide the information to the targeted group.
• The destination should analyse and choose suitable broadcasting in order to use in presenting the designed message, which it considers can be spread to the targeted people.
• The Mediterranean should be able to define the timetable to organise the campaign operations and allocation of the realistic budget.
• The destination should undertake evaluation of the achievement of a campaign to enhance development of the next campaign.

Conclusion

Public relation is used by the Mediterranean to promote its good will to the public, internationally. The Mediterranean tourism destination should arrange outreach events, which can assist in the promotion of its profile and by presenting its name in the charitable events to enhance presentation of its image, as the best tourism destination. It should develop the media relations, since it is a core function, which is enhanced through arranging interviews with key persons in the destination, receiving questions from the reporters and drafting press release to inform the media of the destination achievements and events. Public relation should ensure that the tourism destination is utilising social media in building its image. The public relation, as a promotional tool, should present to the public image a strategy of the Mediterranean destination. It is achieved through the destination’s executives and public relations strategists working together to draft an overview of how the Mediterranean should be perceived, and how it should project a positive image.