Advantages and Disadvantages of Direct Selling: Perspectives of Both Tourism Operators and Tourists

This report will examine how to assist the international tour operator, Contiki to strengthen their business objectives so they can go above and beyond their competitors over the next five years in the international tour market in Australia. It will show different tour operator brands in the international tour market that can be accessed to Australian consumers, overview of the market that the brands operate in, charts and tables identifying the different market segmentations, identifying the target strategy, providing two perceptual maps and an explanation of the competitive advantages and a brief summary about promoting the business. All the information collected from this report is from credible sources.

Before the days of the Internet, if a family wanted to travel to a far-off, exotic locale, they would have to either find a local travel agent or call a travel agency and plan their getaway. In the 1990’s, the Internet became a staple of everyday life and began entering many homes. As the availability of the Internet increased, so did the services available to clients. With the increasing availability of the World Wide Web the travel industry found itself faced with revolutionizing changes. All of the tools that were once solely available to travel agents now became readily available to anyone with access to the Internet and a search engine. Websites quickly formed around the idea of providing consumers with quick vacation planning ideas at low costs. Getting

Today’s on-line travel market is succeeding because the companies are using a more software-centric, online business model termed “E-commerce.” This has become the popular avenue for businesses as it mirrors the ideas of mobility. The sheer amount of data available, coupled with the advanced operating systems and social media platforms, have created new possibilities for E-commerce organizations. The infrastructure of E-commerce has expanded into platforms such as peer-to-peer networking, crowd-sourcing, social websites, and mobile devices and media. E-commerce trends are findings ways to incorporate every aspect of our daily lives into an online package associated with our everyday needs (Fishbein, 2013).

Tour operators typically deal with a wide range of customers; hence it is very difficult for buyers to exert significant power. One advantage that buyers have is the fact that it is relatively costless to switch between operators, especially with the increase in online sales (Liverpool Business School…). However, as has already been mentioned, there is little differentiation amongst products and there is a lack of effective substitutes. These factors make the bargaining power of buyers rather low.

The buyer’s power is increasing with access to online travel brokerages which automatically provide the cheapest available airfares to desired destinations, regardless of airline. These services allow

Today’s sellers are struggling to control the sales process, a phenomenon that gradually raised the last years as buyers have become highly demanding. Buyers have access on the web, seeking for information before they take a purchasing decision and they expect sellers to follow them in all stages – where they have been, what they saw, how long they stayed and what channel they used.

The bargaining power of buyers in the leisure & recreation industry has increased with the use of online travel booking and online customer reviews. Buyers are now able to become better informed with the services that they are purchasing and can

Online strategy influences the people who are active on internet through various social media as well as professional media. Thomas cook contribute 43% of total business in the tourism industry even though they are not much active on advertising. The statistic of TV channel viewer is increasing and it also increases the brand awareness of Thomas cook

As the economy develops, the individualized and diversified demand of tourists is growing. Tourism consumers in different regions, their needs and desires are vastly different, and also change with the change of environmental factors. Travel agencies highlight the characteristics of market positioning, emphasizing the differences, and establish

One of the challenges that these travel agency managers face is that there is a greater traveler independence (Murison, 2015). In certain parts of the worlds, travelers are keen to explore and travel without the need of having everything arranged for them anymore. These travelers know what they want and how to obtain it getting rid of the need for travel agencies. Additionally, the increasing transparency of prices is another problem that travel agency managers face (Murison, 2015). Travelers are not naïve when it comes to the pricing of their trip. With all the online services available, travelers can check and compare prices of the best deals that suit their needs and their

The Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry and the Factors Affecting it Today Contents The development of the travel and tourism industry Page 3-4 Factors that have led to the growth in travel and tourism Page 4-6 Future developments in travel and tourism Page 6-7 Factors affecting the travel and tourism industry today Page 8-9 Bibliography Page 10 The Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry Throughout history, people have travelled across Britain for purposes of trade, education, religion and to fight in battles.

Another aspect of impact of tourism on a country’s economy is that it facilitates the expansion of the market of goods and services. Foreigners come to a country willing to spend money on different goods and services, thus increasing the amounts of sales. This is a great chance for producers and service providers to receive larger profits. This concerns not only hoteliers, tour operators, and souvenir shops owners. Public transportation, retail stores of different kind, restaurants, and cafes benefit from international tourism. Obviously, if these industries are in demand, businesses will be expanding. On the one hand, it means that more money is paid to the budget. On the other hand, profits generated by the owners are spent inside the country, affecting almost all the fields of the

In this section we look at who are our competitors in the same industry and how can we gain the large portion of the market share and profits. However, if the level of competition becomes too high it can ultimately lead to a decrease in profits. There has been an increase in the amount of competitors on the tourism industry over the last 10 years, with the introduction of online sales and new airlines. For the tourism industry the level of competition can be quite high as

Tourism is often synonymous to traveling for pleasure and education. It is also a business of attracting tourists and providing for their accommodation and entertainment. In many countries, tourism is an industry for earning Inland Revenue and foreign exchange. The many businesses that grow concomitantly with development of tourism include airlines, shipping, hotels and restaurants, finance companies, tour operators, travel agents, car rental firms, caterers and retail establishments and together,

Allows government to have money to do road works, school construction and all other governmental works.