10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
10th Vaasa Conference on International Business
Lucia Aiello, Claudia Cacia TOURISM INTERNATIONAL MARKETING STRATEGIES: THE ROLE OF QUALITY BRAND IN THE VALORISATIONS PROCESS1 Lucia Aiello, Claudia Cacia (2009). Tourism International marketing strategies: the role of quality brand in the valorisations process. The aims of this paper through an overview of the relevant literature available at international level, is to categorize advantages come from a settled achievement in the tourist international market, trough the identification of those determinant factors of the tourist competitiveness in order to distinction between destination system and hotel chain. The objective is the location of the strategies of international positioning for the various configurations of the tourist product. On proposal of the brand for the realization of a positioning founded on the quality which key for the survival and the creation of value. This analysis aims to demonstrate how the touristic activity development, on the hand of territorial offer, can drive the whole economy on the basis of a competitive ability on the international market, carry out by brand. Finally, we make a reflection on the studies up to here lead: politics of branding which instrument of the international positioning of the tourist products must consider the coincidence between the identity, the image and the perception of the product. The approach illustrated would like to explicate the elements that constitute a new approach of internationalization, in the light of the recent trends in the issue. Keywords: destination system, hotel chain, positioning, brand, quality
Lucia Aiello, Department of Business Administration, University of Salerno, Via Ponte don Melillo, 84084, Italy Claudia Cacia, Department of Business Administration, University of Salerno, Via Ponte don Melillo, 84084, Italy
1. INTRODUCTION The main opportunity of the Italian tourism is the rapid increase on the international market, justified by new and positive indicator in the global market. At the same time, the global demand of tourism is in expansion. From this observation, we can gather that the international opportunity is really relevant, as much ad the action of those element and subjects that can allow it. This advice is shared with the good and service international trade dynamic. In fact, even the WTO data give evidence of this. The different phase in actual fact, reflect the importance of an international competition and the relevance of the market globalization in the planning and putting into effect the global competitive strategies. In fact, in the modern society, tourism becomes more important in reasons of both economic and social issue, apart from an instrument to the territory development. In light of this, the aim of this paper is to categorize advantages from internationalization of tourism, trough the identification of those determinant factors of the tourist
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
competitiveness. The analisys of the configuration of personality, image and identity aimed to highlight the role of brand and underline that a growing part of value depends on it one. We propose the following roadmap in order to give to the reader a clear understanding of the steps of our study: 1. The analysis of internationalization definition. 2. The study of tourism international composition and the distinction between destination system and hotel chain. 3. International positioning of tourist product: characterization of the hotel service and the product destination. 4. The brand role on the positioning policy. 5. Definition of consistency between identity, image and personality in brand positioning policy. 6. Proposition of “quality brand” to reinforce the international position. The main subject is the analysis of theories concerning the tourism marketing, particularly marketing strategies and instruments for joining them into a new interpretative model of internationalization. Object of the job is analysis of the theories on the tourist marketing, in particular of the strategies and the instruments of internationalization in order to make to meet them in a configuration “ad hoc” for the analysis within. The last analysis places the accent on the different role of the question and the offer in “new” the definition of internationalization of the tourist products. Obligation is a reflection on the studies up to here lead: politics of branding which instrument of the international positioning of the tourist products must consider the coincidence between the identity, the image and the perception of the product. The study ends with the conclusions and some open matters that allow presupposing possible future directions of research for the academics.
2. THE INTERNATIONALIZATION DEFINITION The study of the theory of internationalisation and theirs applications to the tourism create the first step of the work. This analysis helps to understand how strategies of international marketing create competitive advantage (Porter, 1980 and 2001; Andrews, 1971, Ansoff, 1980; Rumelt, 1991; Hunt, 1995). Central to this analysis will be the consideration of what is meant by the term ‘internationalisation’. Generally the meaning of internationalisation is clarified as to ‘integrate an international and intercultural dimension’. In fact, internationalisation promotes cultural diversity and fosters intercultural understanding, respect, and tolerance among peoples human security and helps to build a climate of global peace. Certain, there are many schools of thought on internationalization, and the literature is rich and complex. For some authors internationalization is a process that follows an orderly sequence of growth in incremental stages (Johanson & Wiedersheim-Paul 1975, later modified by Johanson & Vahlne 1979)2 . In the network approach prospective, the internationalization depends of the influence of the network in which the business operate (Bell, 1995; Elg e Johansson, 1996, Coviello e Munro, 1997; Loane e Bell, 2006). In line with the “eclectic paradigm” developing by Dunning, internationalization is linked to three different kind of advantages as ownership, location and internalization (OLI)3. According to Teare &
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
Boer (1993) internationalization is the process by which firms become involved in serving markets outside their home country. However, with the recent process of globalization and the advent of innovation and communication technologies is clear that companies do not nowadays follow the sequential process, service companies too (Singer, 2002). In addition, transnational hotel corporations pursue a mixture of expansion strategies combining both equity and non-equity concurrently (Contractor & Kundu 1998). So, the definition of internationalization would be implication for the strategic option of different kind of business, specially for the service due to their characteristics (Heskett, 1990; Hakserver et alt., 2000). Avoiding any further on the distinction between goods and services, we limit ourselves to recall some of the general, with specific reference to organizational problems involved at the international level: the inviolability of the offer, the heterogeneity, the simultaneity between production and consume (Sarathy R., 1994). The intangibility makes it difficult to evaluate the output of the service and its quality therefore becomes important for the company service its credibility and the image with which it presents. The heterogeneity is linked to problems of standardization. The simultaneity between production and consume leads, according to Levitt (1983), to settle for simple promises of satisfaction. Those also affects the international expansion: the subjective nature of quality perception of service means that what may be satisfactory in the domestic market, may not be perceived as such by foreign consumers (D’Amato, Cacia, 2008). Therefore, the service may require an adaptation to attract and satisfy the market internationally. In fact, one of the characteristics of internationalisation and theirs applications to the tourism can be identified in the co-existence of co-production (inseparability), intangibility, heterogeneity and ownership. Specifically to the tourism, internationalization my be interpreted as: 1) customers move to the factors of production 2) the factors of production move to customers. We can identified three different forms of tourism internationalization. The first one is exportation in which there is a minimal presence and control by the company. The second one is agreements, like licensing and joint venture, in both are required a degree of financial and managerial investment in the country. The last one is direct investment. De Wilde (1991) argues that the successful implementation of international tourism management will be based on two learning processes: the first is conceptual in nature and is addressed in terms of the way issue change a result of the global economy (like strategic alliance); the second processes skill based and encompasses broadly intercultural negotiating skills, the ability to read different markets in different context and understand comparative politics (de Wilde, 1991, pp.41-44) However, for tourist system, we can refer to internationalization only reference to move international customers (tourists) on the destination. So, internationalize a destination means import foreign visitors. This moves towards the management of distribution as a key factor of competitiveness4. Therefore, to internationalize a tourist destination is desirable create business relationship and agreements with foreign markets operators (like outgoing tour operators and travel agency). In order to create this agreements, managers and enterprises of tourism industry must acquire the ability to draft and implement strategies and plans that will guarantee the success on the more and more internationalized market of tourism. This interdependence between countries, economies and people has led to the creation and operation of global tourism market
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
where destinations, which are expected to compete on equal basis regardless of the country of origin, function interactively. Due to the internationalization of the economy and business activity, the competition in the tourism industry has shifted from local level to global level. This development influences to a significant extent the strategic decision process of both independent tourism operators and international tourism organizations. Even id globalization has opened a whole new world of development opportunities specially for tourism, the conclusion is reached that to be successful in international market, tourist and hospitality marketers have to device marketing strategies that are generated to the needs and wants of the specific target markets, needs that are strangely affected by the consumer’s national and ethnic culture. There is, therefore, a need among tourist and hospitality marketers to be unique and excel in what they do to remain competitive by improving communications and cost control and implement an international marketing strategies too.
3. TOURISM5 INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT: DESTINATION SYSTEM AND HOTEL CHAIN. The tourism’s definition accepted to international level is “the term tourism is the activity carried out in humans - for fun, business or other reason - during travels and stays in a place outside their usual environment for a period less than one year”6. In order this definition is the consumer that with his behaviour, when he buys and uses goods and services (commercial and non-commercial) such qualifying activities as tourism products. The principal touristic activities are hosting and travelling (Kotler, 2003), in this paper on analyzes the first compartment, on two types of tourism product: destination and hotel chain. A tourist destination is a territory in which they have a set of attractions that can satisfy the needs and interests of a particular segment of the tourist demand. The destination is defined as "territorial space geographical defined, it is capable of expressing one or more tourism products, thanks to the presence of factors of attractiveness of natural and artificial, controlled and operated by an articulated set of actors among their coordinates with the presence of a body meta-level" (Mussner, Pechlaner, Schoenhuber, 1999). The boundaries of the destination (not defined a priority) can be identified, therefore, starting from the specific needs of each target customer in question. A tourist destination can be considered only when the resources, i.e. the raw material source of attraction, be integrated with infrastructure and services that allow, respectively, accessibility and usability of the desired goal. If not met these three characteristics do not have a "product" sold. Each destination is subject to use by a variety of users: they are not included among the tourists only. Should, in fact, including, but residents and workers, as also users of the space, facilities and services in the territory. The identification of subjects that are part of is essential for the definition of a tourist destination, the key players, each of which presents different peculiarities are: tourists, intent on meeting their own needs and the local population, which are poured issues relating to environmental sustainability, social and economic infrastructure, is also known as "passive tourism", the tourist industry
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
(accommodation and catering, tour operators, travel agents, guides, attraction of businesses, etc..), whose activity is supporting the development of tourist destination and thus the economic return in terms of profit and the public sector, which sees tourism as a means of stimulating the development of the local economy, especially through increased employment, and that should take care of business within its powers to encourage this. At a tourist destination is a plurality of elements7: • Attractions: elements able to exercise a kind of tourist interest; • The amenities: hotels, restaurants, entertainment; • Infrastructure: any form of construction, usually made by the public sector, needed for communication and mobility; • Additional services, made available by local organizations. The second tourism product analyzed into this work is hotel chain. It is a typical product of hospitality, that consists of two fundamental dimensions, the tangible - such as structure, furniture, beds and other - and intangible - such as reception service, restaurant, maid service and other. In reports on the considerations set out in this analysis we place to comparison two type of tourist dimension: system destination and hotel chain. A tourism product is the combination of all goods and services consumed by tourists in a place called, then we can say that the destination is part of the tourism product, also a key element is that of hospitality, including hotel chains . Those dimensions could be classified as follow: Destination: the place where one plays the "tourist consumption". Hotel chain: hospitality and tourism service, integral element of the destination.
Figure 1. Tourism Product and levels: destination system and hotel chain. TOURIST PRODUCT:” the activity carried out in humans - for fun, business or other reason - during travels and stays in a place outside their usual environment for a period less than one year” DESTINATION: location, geographic area
HOTEL CHAIN: hospitality
Source: ours elaboration
Figure 1 shows the relationship between the two elements of the tourism product covered by this work, in fact, the hotel chain is part of a tourist destination. This reflection allows new insights into the definition of international tourism product. The chain of hotels in its international positioning must necessarily consider the peculiarities of the destination, must be consistent with the image that the territory was outside.
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
Over the years, however, there has been a massification of needs, they have think that the standardization was synonymous of quality, in this case is not that. The tourist wants to live a unique experience where you move and the hotel chain must provided a standard shared the other side should also include the "personalization". In line with the considerations made in this work suggests the role of the brand positioning strategy as effective in supporting the tourism product image.
4. THE BRAND ROLE ON THE POSITIONING POLICY: IDENTITY, IMAGE AND PERSONALITY A brand represent what a product/service is, what benefits is carries to the consumer and what differentiates the product/service from other products (Usunier, 2000). A brand can therefore be defines as a psychological construct of images and relationships in the mind of a consumer which is responsible for product/service identification and product/service differentiation, and which influences customer’s purchase decision (Esch, 2004). Branding has an important role in service companies, in fact brand enables consumer to visualize and understand the intangible aspects of the service including the quality of the people who provide the services. Service branding is an effective techniques in international marketing (Buhalis, Costa, 2006). The brands gets an additional dimension when adding the international perspective (Bell, 2000). In fact, customers in other country markets may have different preferences and tastes in the home markets, therefore the same messages may not be appropriate there. At the same time, there is evidence that customers are more globalized (Kotler, 2002). So, according to Sattler (2001, 2007) there isn’t a solution of which are the best way to qualify the brand, but is necessary to select an optimal degree between standardization and differentiation and adapt the brand positioning to the needs of foreign markets. There is nothing wrong with this, but is the same holds true of local/global dilemma, or ethics versus business dilemma (Kapferer, 2004). In light of this issue, branding policy is indispensable to international tourism product placement represents. Consequently, to optimize this process it is indispensable a planned strategy aimed to matching identity, image and personality of a service. In fact, we believe that the brand is a synthesis of these items. The construction and use of the strategy implies, preliminarily, the knowledge of those specific concepts. Both identity and image are based on the values, attributers and personalities associated with the brand. In our opinion it is essential to distinguish the meanings of these two expressions. Identity reflects the view of the marketer or owner. That is, identity is what owner or manager believes or intends that the service should represent to consumers, customers. Image, instead, is what customers, users, and the like believe or perceive the service to be or what it represent to them at a given point in time (Schults, 2003; Wei, 2002; Abratt and Shee, 1989). The image exist exclusively in individuals who are perceived through a series of clues (visual) perception that leads them to judge subjectively what the organization as well as a destination or a hotel chain is (Bernsterin, 1984). Image has been verified to be a pivotal factor in travellers' decision process and destination/hotel chain selection behaviour (Gunn, 1972; Gartner, 1993;
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
Goodrich, 1978; Woodside & Lysonski, 1989; Um & Crompton, 1990). The image that travellers hold about a destination/hotel chain would be significantly influenced by several information sources. As a result, an accurate assessment of image is a key to designing an elective marketing and positioning strategy (Reilly, 1990). This position allows affirming that there is often a big difference between what the organization/tourism product believes of feels about the service and the experiences customers and consumer have with it. As a consequence of the intangibility of the services, therefore their quality is difficult to be evaluated by the client/consumer and building a strong brand image is a challenging task. The personality represents, in its place, what the tourism product currently is (i.e. real identity), and is expressed by the modalities according to which the organization manages its business and develops its own activities. The personality can be considered the result of the interpretation of the personality of the organization/ tourism product, achieved through a process of self-evaluation (Fill, 1999). The personality has, in its nature, a strong immaterial component, that has to be made explicit through the visual elements, in order to be communicated to the outside and to become perceivable (Siano, 2001). Through a high-quality communication policy and brand strategy is possible to appreciate a correspondence between the tourism product perception and what it is. Thus, we refer to a communication that can translate the elements of personality in those visible and perceptible outside (identity). This communications strategy have to considerate the typical complexity of a tourism product promotion, like the importance of those elements whose matching could represents a competitive advantage for both destination system and hotel chain. Then, we discuss about the configuration of such three elements and their difference to highlight the role of brand and underline that a growing part of value depends on it one. Therefore, destinations as well as an hotel chain, must allow recipients to understand their identity in order to differentiate themselves from others, trying to feel out their values and thus their identity, with the purpose to match between personality and image (Fig 2). If they are capable of optimizing the relationship between identity and personality certainly succeeds in reducing the gap between personality and image. This is possible through a excellent brand strategy. Figure 2. The Brand as integration of image, personality and identity
Personality. What tourist product/Brand is
Image How tourist product is perceive
Identity How the tourist product is visible outside/identifiers
Source: our elaboration on Fill, 1996.
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BRAND
10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
After these considerations, it is important to emphasize the relationship between hotel chain and destination as we stated at the beginning. Indeed, we can not refer to the integration of the three items for the destination or the hotel chain because, being such integrated with one another, it becomes essential - in our vision - to speak of a total integration. Territory in which a complex of attractions closely tied to the need of a target has centre of customers. The succeeding tourist destination is a place where the resources, source of attraction, is integrated with infrastructures and services that allow, respective, the accessibility and the usability of the wished goal (Ejarque, 2003). The hotel chain is constituted by hotels characterized by homogenous respect to or more characteristics (the qualitative level, the target objective, the style of management, and high), than they are introduced with a common brand (sometimes only sometimes in addition to own teaches). The tie that joins the hotels defined “in chain” can assume various form and “force” (Benevolo, Grasso, 2005). The destination in which hotel chain are localized is often considered by the client as a reflection of the quality of the service, thus is important to simulate this quality with e purpose of acquiring a strong brand image. Consequently, the destination modifies the perception on the quality of the distributed services (hotel chain). The client attributes a superior quality to hotel chain which are localized in an opulent, luxurious destination, as opposed to those localized in an environment which suggests a discount atmosphere. Therefore, the tourism product is a particularly complex because it is composed of a combination of several factors and in modern economic language, is defined as' brand ', because what is actually offered to potential tourists is a specific product, that indeed as noted as a set of products. Destinations and hotel chain will become a fashion accessory, with the traveller increasingly adopting this attitude as a fundamental principle for the choice of holiday. Furthermore, brands and images will become more important in the future as tourist product choice will be shaped by the values that the consumer holds. Tourist product brand values will have to be trustworthy, ethical and sustainable (Yeoman et. al, 2006). In such a conceptualization, the brand of place plays a vital role in assessing a destinations and hotel chain attributes and utility.
5. INTERNATIONAL POSITIONING8 OF TOURISM PRODUCT The product placed (Kotler, 2006) on the market by a business aims to: offer an advantage and meet the target, satisfy the target’s expectations better than its competitors thanks to its distinctive and quality features, have perceivable elements: the product’s image (brand) must be evident and easy to link with its category. The product’s placement shows the way the product is placed in the consumer’s mind with reference to the mentioned features which determine differed responses. The objective is to demonstrate how the international positioning9 of a tourist product changes in relation to their characteristics dimensions. The positioning map can be prepared according to the following steps: 1. identification of the relevant market;
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
2. definition of product characteristics that have greater weight in the choice of consumption / use by the market / consumer; 3. choice of scale of measurement of attributes; 4. collection of judgements made by consumers on the possession of the set of attributes by the different brands and the importance assigned to that set in the choice of each brand; 5. reduction in the number of variables considered; 6. elaboration of the map, then place the opinions expressed by consumers with regard to the attributes sought and the different brands in the space of two or more dimensions (multidimensional map). If in past it had a sense to distinguish between goods and services, during the last few years this distinction has lost significance, this because every good and service are composed from various elements and every product is (in the majority of the cases) constituted or of assets that services. Enough more the criterion of the prevalence of the assets or the services in order not to characterize a product. The table that follows supports the made affirmation. Table 1. The product: system of goods and services. Need to satisfy
Cases
Product
City
Destination: Naples
Good: meals; water,…. Service: transport, night's passing
Hotel Chain
Best Western
Good: bed Service: concierge's room, wellness
Transport
Bus-line
Good: bus Services: ABS, Satellite Navigator
Wellness
Jacuzzi
Good: bath Service: Jacuzzi
The cases showed in the table represent only some examples of complex product and concern all areas, whatever kind of need to satisfy. When we say product we want to refer to good and service at the same time. All services are also constituted by goods, it isn’t ever true the contrary, but the new policy to differentiate through additional goods and services. (Ferri , Aiello, 2009). The main aspect is that the destination and the hotel chain closely are connected. The demonstration of such connections is through the analysis of the positioning of each of the identified two dimensions of the tourism product, destination or hotel chain, in order to specify the characteristics and traits in common. These considerations are important in the positioning policies, figure 3 represents the positioning of the tourist products (destination and hotel chain)
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
Figure 3. Position's map: Hotel Chain and Destination System10
Orientation to integration’ products
DESTINATION SYSTEM
Business strategy
Territorial strategy
HOTEL CHAIN
Orientation to market
Source: Application model of Ferri and Aiello (2009)
The touristic product is defined, it is based on the made considerations, integrate. The items of TIP (Touristic Integrated Product) are: receptive structures; cultural offer; transport system; territory system; touristic demand: external and internal push. The actions that determine the TIP are: for the offer: it harmonize; it integrate; it communicate. for the demand: it push; it create expectations and perceptions. In light of this consideration, we propose a possible evolutions of those maps through the elaboration of a new map’s role of position. Once the integrated positioning of the destination and the hotel chain, it is possible to draw the winning strategies of positioning.
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
Figure 4. Position optimal: Hotel Chain and Destination System Integration Orientation to integration’ products
Business strategy
HOTEL CHAIN
DESTINATION SYSTEM
Territorial strategy
Orientation to market
The strategy of positioning, generally, is conservative, repositioning, putting side by side, shift of the preferences and modification of the basis of positioning. The following table lays the characteristics of each strategy and the best possible application to the tourism product analyzed. Table 2. The strategies of placement: Destination system and Hotel Chain Strategy
Characteristics
Optimal strategy
Conservative
On detain to position. On reinforce the position customers.
Destination System in respect to Hotel Chain
Repositioning
On move the perception that the customers Destination System have about the brand. Hotel Chain
Putting side by side
On putting side by side to product a new Destination System product on the free segment.
Shift of the preferences
On shift the customers toward the product Hotel Chain offered
Modification of the basis of positioning
On find a new axis with a new dressy Hotel Chain characteristic in order to market.
A new strategy of positioning that on purposes into this work is quality brand; this strategy is optimal in order to destination system and hotel chain, in fact he analyses pointed out propose a Brand of Quality for successful politics in international positioning.
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
6. PROPOSITION OF QUALITY INTERNATIONAL POSITION
BRAND
TO
REINFORCE
THE
A complex product like tourism must be supported by policies to ensure that quality is perceived externally as excellent. Policies that have to invest the whole rather than individual products, for two reasons: The quality policies have the objective of customer satisfaction. Il client receives the individual tourist products in their complexity and integration. Indeed, the means of transport, accommodation, cultural activities, catering and any other activity carried out by creating a tourist destination, in his mind, the idea of the tourist product offered by the territory. If each tourist activities have already been implemented quality systems as the application of ISO, for an area that is more complex, which is why we propose here, a quality policy for the creation of a territorial mark down in stages. To do this, is necessary to define the quality. There are difference types of quality: the absolute quality is how the service actually performs in the marketplace compared to what is promised, expected of offered by the organization or competitive products. Quality also relates to the price value expected. Generally, quality is in the eye of the beholder and is not under the control of the marketeters. (Schulz, 2003). For the reason that perceived quality is the sum of overall expectations for the brand customer’s point of view, it has direct relationship with the financial value of the brand and ultimately on the stock price and the general marketplace performance of the firm as well. (Schulz, 2003). The figure 5 identifies the steps necessary to propose a land mark of quality. From the result of the steps considered that if the service improves the perceived quality increases, and customer satisfaction, therefore increasing the tourist flow (demand) (Institute G. Tagliacarne, 2009) . Monitoring according to the logic plan-do-check-act is an important element for achieving the objective qualities that may seem abstract but in concrete reality is framed by the individual objectives: customer satisfaction, loyalty, increasing numbers of tourists, increase of internationalization, increased profitability, increased infrastructure, increased services, development of individual products, increased performance, increased training, increased performance in terms of human resources.
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
Figure 5. Step for a Quality Brand. Hospitality Area into Destination. Fields Destination
Process
Hospitality
Breakdown of the individual activities of the facilities to be monitored. (reception, night passing, and others)
1.customer satisfaction 2.loyalty 3.Internationalization 4.Increased flows in terms of additions and Attendance
Breakdown of individual activities to access the destination track (the tourist information offices, markings, and others)
1.customer satisfaction 2.loyalty 3.Internationalization 4.Increased flows of visitors
Breakdown of the individual activities of the cultural infrastructure to be monitored (Museums, theatres, and others)
1.customer satisfaction 2.loyalty 3.Internationalization 4.Increase in visitors 5.Presence of national and international visitors
1.Increase in number of activities 2.Increased number of the structures and cultural infrastructure 3.Increased the flow of visitors 4.Return Customers 5.Increase in performance
Breakdown of the individual activities of the economic infrastructure to be monitored (banking offices, and others)
6.customer satisfaction 7.loyalty 8.Internationalization 9. local actors satisfaction
1.Increase in number of infrastructure 2.Increase in service users 3.Increase in performance Increase in performance
Breakdown of the individual activities of transport companies to track. (transportation, signage, information, ticketing, and others)
1.customer satisfaction 2.loyalty 3.Internationalization 4.Increased flows of passengers
1.Questionnaires customer 2.Increase in number of infrastructure 3.Increase in national and international flows Return Customers 4.Increase in performance
Accessibility
Cultural infrastructures
Economic infrastructures
Transport
Objective
Control 1.Questionnaires customer: 2.Increase in the number of facilities; 3.Increase in national and international flows; 4.Return Customers; 5.Increase in performance 1.Increase in the number of infrastructure and service 2.Increase in performance
___________________ Source: our elaboration on work of Istituto Guglielmo Tagliacarne11, 2009
The analysis of input-output - applied to the following facilities - including product quality objectives and justify the need for a Quality Policy and the development of a trademark for the hotel chain and destination: 1. Increase the quality of the structures increases customer satisfaction.: Perceived quality in terms of many standard stars; 2. Customer satisfaction involves flows "money": Increase the amount of resources to invest in product and services offered; 3. Increased use of services has positive effects on employment; 4. Growth of occupation influences the demand for competent and "quality". human resources; 5. Increase in performance of human resources involves the formation of the same. 6. Quality also impacts positively on the destination image.
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
7. The image creates reputation. 8. The reputation has a positive impacts on the of the hotel chain/destination image. The same logic applied to the hospitality system are consistent with all other sectors of the tourist destination. Specifically: The quality should be monitored for activity, and should involve all sectors of tourism in a destination, as they are closely linked; The brand must be developed and created to be incorporated into the umbrella brand of the destination (STL). In effect, tourists expect satisfaction with their entire tourist experience not merely with the individual components of the tourism product.. This suggest that any quality brand should encompass the full gamut of tourism products and services at the destination, in accordance with the concept of multi- product destination branding. (Scott, Laws, 2006). So, the policies of quality brand, in our frame work, are an important element for the positioning policy of the touristic product as is destination and hotel chains. This as the quality brand has been widely recognized as a source of competitive advantage in tourism (Poon, 1993, Laws, 2000). Doyle (1998) emphasises the importance of beyond customer expectations through providing an augmented level of added values, which are “difficult for competitors to imitate” and a potential level, which builds customer preference loyalty (Scott, Laws, 2006). Thus a brand can be defined as a “Quality Brand” non only when the different exigencies of miscellaneous customers are met, but also when consumer perceive a brand as offering superior brand values and benefits to the competitor offerings, causing them to specify ot recommend the brand (Lambkin, Meenagan and O’Dwyer, 1994). Later on the map assumes new shapes and integrations, which are represented in the figure 6. Figure 6. New shapes of integrations: The value of Quality Brand.
Integration/coincidence between image-identitypersonality of tourist
product
QUALITY BRAND International positioning
Quality of tourist product ___________________ Source: our elaboration
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
In our view, a strategy helpful to optimize the international tourist product positioning must be based on an agreed gradual adjustment of tourist product quality (hotel chain and destination) to the way in which those parameters are communicates to the consumers. The last element depends of the brand strategy that should be finalized to the optimization of the relationship between identity and personality, which certainly succeeds in reducing the gap between personality and image. An increase of the quality of the tourism product - rather of his personality - is a greater likelihood of integration between identity and image of the product itself. Brand strategy is extraordinarily important as the execution of such strategy is complex for it involves the management everything associates with the brand and conveyed about the brand. The sum of these management activity directly relates to the brand value in the marketplace. For that reason, building a brand with high quality means develop the awareness, loyalty of consumer, implement a strategic network and overseeing how the brand is used are all key aspects of brand management. (Nykiel, 2006).
7. CONCLUSIONS, RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
AND
DIRECTIONS
FOR
FUTURE
The quality in the implementation of a tourism product, as perceived by the users, has a clear and definite influence on the brand image. This relationship leads us to conclude that a superior Brand quality can influence positively the purchase decisions of a tourist or his resolution to visit a certain destination or hotel chain and, as a consequences, it could influence the international positioning of the tourist product. The methodology used is to apply practical tools based on theories of scientific literature. The method is “decomposition of elements investigated”, the object is a “new point of view” of international positioning and elaboration of ideal parameters of “Quality Brand”, the final point is the application of those elements to the hotel chain and the destination system. We specify, therefore, that the formulated hypotheses do not claim to constitute conclusions. They have to be considered, rather, as first considerations that allow to guess possible directions for future research. For further close examinations a wide availability of relative information is necessary to appraise empirically this results. Such confirmation will be certainly theme to further research. The objective of the work presented is to provide concrete tools and new development prospects for the international positioning of the tourism product. The prospect is considered one of the tourism product integral (PTI) and the analysis, in particular, the destination and the hotel chain such as size of the PTI. If the hotel chain reflects the image of the destination and vice versa, it is appropriate the hotel chain positioning strategies to be integrated with those of the destination. Ultimately the discussions led to the following assumption: the policies of positioning of hotel chain should ensure the personalization of the product offered because the client wants to live a unique experience tied to territory in which you move. This assumption offers a new perspective, in line with what we propose: a Quality Brand for the hotel chain must be consistent with that of the destination.
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10th VAASA Conference on International Business, August 23-25, 2009, Vaasa, Finland
The research opportunity is to provide the points on which we can develop a quality brand for the hotel chain and the destination. The limit is the lack of application of quality labels, from which you can leave for future research.
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Endnotes 1
Although the views expressed in the paper belong to all of the authors, the paragraphs 2 and 4 are attributed to Claudia Cacia (
[email protected]), paragraphs 3 and 5 to Lucia Aiello (
[email protected].). 2 Early contribution of ‘Uppsala model’: Johanson & Wiedersheim Paul 1975; ‘We do not believe that [internationalization] is the result of a strategy for optimum allocation of resources to different countries where alternative ways of exploiting foreign markets are compared and evaluated. We see it rather as the consequence of a process of incremental adjustments to changing conditions of the firm and its environment. Johanson and Vahlne 1977, p. 35. 3 Ownership advantages are, as the name implies, competitive advantages that the firm owns vis-`a-vis its competitors. Location advantages consist of political, economic and natural factors that firms consider when deciding to locate abroad. Internalization advantages derive from a firm deciding to integrate various assets and skills within the framework of the company rather than trading them in the marketplace. Criticisms of the eclectic paradigm mostly concerned the static nature of the model, and the need to integrate the strategic intent of companies into it. Dunning (2001) acknowledged these shortcomings and proposed improvements. 4 Distribution system serve ad the intermediary between consumers and suppliers and are an essential part of the travel and hospitality marketing strategy. It helps to sales directly to customers. 5 For further information in order to tourisme product in Italy: Celant A., Ferri M. A., L’Italia. Il declinio economico e la forza del turismo. Fattori di vulnerabilità e potenziale competitivo di un settore, Marchesi, 2009. 6 Definition of United Nations Statistical Commission (1993), session XXVII of ONU. 7 In fact, the tourism product is complex. 8 Clancy considers the positioning as a concept variegate and the strategy is a multiple-level. This complexity regards also the marketing literature. In the marketing studies, in fact, not there is unequivocal and homogeneous theoretical of the positioning concept. 9 For further information: Rics A., Positioning. Weapon in winning the battle for the mind of the consumer, McGrow-Hill, Milano, 1986. 10 Application model of Ferri M. A. and Aiello L. to destination system and hotel chain. 11 For further information: Istituto G. Tagliacarne a project of Unioncamere Calabria, Riflessioni sul turismo in Calabria. Prospettive e possibili proposte, 2009.
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