Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Tsiotsou
and
Ratten
mention
in
the
article
that
consumer
behaviour,
branding,
e-marketing
and
strategic
marketing
are
important
future
research
topics
in
the
tourism
industry.
To
further
discuss
these
issues
in
relation
with
tourism
marketing
in
the
Alps,
some
figures,
facts
and
specialities
about
the
Alps
need
to
be
clarified.
First
of
all,
the
region
reaches
6
different
countries,
namely
Austria,
Germany,
France,
Switzerland,
Italy
and
Slovenia.
Altogether
there
are
5814
villages
situated
in
the
Alps.
(Leitner,
2013)
This
fact
makes
it
particularly
difficult
to
identify
who
exactly
is
responsible
for
tourism
marketing
in
the
Alps.
The
first
'promoters'
of
tourism
in
the
Alps
were
various
clubs
like
the
"Austrian
Alpine
Club"
in
1862
or
the
"German
Alpine
Club"
in
1869.
(Leitner,
2013)
This
fact
shows
that
tourism
in
this
region
started
developing
a
very
long
time
ago
and
consumer's
behaviour
most
certainly
changed
a
lot
over
the
decades.
In
the
50's
and
60's,
there
were
no
big
cultural
differences
to
face
in
tourism,
and
also
the
whole
industry
was
more
a
supplier's
market.
There
was
no
big
competition
to
face
and
the
travellers
weren't
very
experienced
either.
The
situation
changed
a
bit
in
the
70's
and
80's,
when
the
first
tourist
boards
were
developed.
Air
transport
also
was
something
unaffordable
for
most
people
before,
but
at
that
time
charter
flights
developed
and
flights
got
cheaper.
The
seller's
market
became
a
buyer's
market
in
the
90's
and
with
that,
the
service
quality
got
more
important.
Marketing
got
a
very
serious
topic
at
that
time
due
to
various
facts.
Firs
of
all,
tourists
then
already
demanded
a
service
chain
that
was
coherent
and
harmonious,
global
competition
arose
and
new
destinations
emerged.
Branding
also
started
to
be
an
issue.
In
every
decade,
tourism
businesses
invested
in
different
new
infrastructure,
like
in
the
80's
there
was
a
golf-course
and
congress
boom
and
in
the
90's
many
alpine
hotels
constructed
costly
wellness
&
spa
areas.
Nowadays,
the
Alps,
after
the
Mediterranean
coast,
are
the
second
largest
tourist
destination
worldwide.
(Leitner,
2013)
The
visitors
of
the
alps
not
only
got
as
mentioned
above
more
challenging
in
terms
of
service
chains
and
their
growing
experience,
also,
as
Tsiotsou
and
Ratten
(2010)
mention,
the
population
in
general
is
getting
older,
middle
class
grows
globally
and
cross-
cultural
competencies
are
getting
more
and
more
important.
In
Tirol
for
example,
the
main
visitor
markets
are
Germany,
Austria,
the
Netherlands
and
Switzerland.
Noticeable
is,
that
the
overnights
from
German
visitors
decreased
in
the
last
10
years,
whereas
overnights
from
guests
coming
from
further
away
regions
like
China
increased.
(www.tirolwerbung.at)
Consumer
behaviour
not
only
changes
because
of
the
different
cultures
that
the
tourism
industry
in
the
Alps
is
confronted
with.
Also
more
and
more
people
put
greater
emphasis
on
sustainability
issues.
(Tsiotsou,
Ratten
2010)
This
issue
is
something
that
most
certainly
not
only
tourists
are
concerned
about,
but
also
the
players
of
the
regions
as
well.
The
Alpine
Convention
published
a
new
report
in
2013
(Sustainable
Tourism
in
the
Alps)
that
should
inform
the
industry
about
the
current
state
of
the
art
concerning
sustainability
issues
in
the
Alps
and
also
suggests
guidelines
and
actions
for
members
to
preserve
the
region.
The
alpine
regions'
tourism
websites
mention
the
sustainability
issue
frequently
and
seem
to
be
aware
of
the
fact
that
it
is
from
growing
importance
to
their
target
group.
Also
mentionable
is,
that
many
of
the
advertisements
of
the
Alps
are
focussing
on
recreation,
the
purity
of
the
nature
and
empathize
the
regional
products
that
are
offered.
These
factors
are
often
also
part
of
the
brands
that
were
developed
in
the
different
regions
of
the
Alps.
There
is
not
really
one
big
brand
marketed,
probably
because
there
isn't
one
tourism
organisation
for
the
whole
region.
The
Alps
are,
according
to
Pechlaner,
Raich
and
Zehrer
(2011)
a
very
good
example
for
umbrella
branding,
which
is
typical
in
tourism
nowadays
and
that
gives
the
region
the
possibility
to
differentiate
itself
from
competitors.
According
to
Leitner
(2013)
one
of
the
challenges
of
the
Alps
is
their
lack
of
clear
positioning
and
their
lack
of
differentiation.
Another
issue
that
affects
the
whole
alpine
tourism
industry
is
the
development
of
the
Internet.
Not
only
the
whole
distribution
process
changed
and
online
travel
agencies
boomed,
but
also
online
review
platforms
got
more
and
more
important.
The
electronic
word
of
mouth
confronted
hoteliers
with
a
completely
new
challenge
as
consumers'
decision
making
process
is
influenced
by
it.
(Teufel,
2010)
The
alpine
region
is
dominated
by
small
businesses,
mainly
family
run,
and
new
technologies,
apps
and
social
networks
are
still
a
challenge
for
many
of
the
companies.
In
Tirol
for
example,
only
43%
of
the
tourism
businesses
provide
a
website.
(www.ttr.tirol.at)
Still
tourism
boards
like
the
Tirol
Werbung
want
to
keep
up
with
the
latest
trends
in
tourism
and
introduce
various
apps
like
the
"Tirol
Travel
Guide
App",
which
is
available
in
three
different
languages.
(www.tyrol.com).
Another
important
step
for
future
research
directions
in
tourism
marketing
mentioned
by
Tsiotsou
and
Ratten
(2010)
is
strategic
marketing.
In
the
Alps,
introducing
a
common
and
consistent
marketing
strategy
for
all
the
different
regions
is
surely
very
difficult
as
the
area
is
managed
by
many
different
tourism
boards
situated
in
many
different
areas
and
even
countries.
Still,
tourism
boards
have
the
possibility
to
individually
implement
strategies
to
improve
the
touristic
performances
of
the
regions.
Tourism
management
and
marketing
for
a
destination
like
the
Alps
can
be
a
quite
unique
matter
that
requires
profound
and
current
knowledge.
For
that
reason,
leading
alpine
tourism
regions
pool
together
once
a
year
since
2010
to
gain
and
exchange
expertise,
inform
themselves
about
current
trends,
do
business
with
each
other,
work
together
and
also
promote
sustainable,
value
intense
tourism
in
the
Alps.
(www.the-alps.eu)
References
Alpine
Convention
(2013):
http://www.alpconv.org/en/AlpineKnowledge/RSA/tourism/Documents/RSA4%20en%20WE
B.pdf
Leitner,
T.
(2013):
Introduction
to
Alpine
Tourism,
Lecture
WS2013,
Marketing
Management,
Entrepreneurship
&
Tourism,
Management
Center
Innsbruck,
2013
Pechlaner,
H./Raich,
R./Zehrer,
A.
(2011):
The
Alps:
Challenges
and
Potentials
of
a
Brand
Management.
Tourism
Analysis
12
(5-6),
pp.
359-369
Teufel,
M.
(2010):
Social
Media
im
Tourismus
-
Erfolgspotenziale
von
Hotelbewertungsportalen.
Diplomarbeit
2010,
FH
Wien
der
WKW,
Institut
fr
Tourismusmanagment
theALPS
Secretariat
(2014):
http://www.the-alps.eu/page.cfm?vpath=mission
Tirol
Werbung
(2013):
http://www.tirolwerbung.at/media/12795/Tiroler%20Tourismus%20-
%20Daten%20und%20Fakten%202013.pdf
Tourism
Research
Tirol
(2014):
http://www.ttr.tirol.at/content/wmp-studie-zum-
onlineauftritt-von-unterkunftsbetrieben
Tsiotsou,
R./Ratten,
V.
(2010):
Future
research
directions
in
tourism
marketing.
Marketing
Intelligence
&
Planning
28(4),
pp.
533-544