Any theme park, hotel or other tourist enterprise invariably faces a choice of what to produce and to what extent. The inevitability of this problem is obvious. After all, tourism organizations have a small amount of production resources. The final decision will depend on the goal of the company, as well as those restrictions and obstacles that will be in its path.
What is included in the concept of a tourism product?
The success of any company in the market depends, first of all, on the attractiveness for consumers of the goods or services it produces. Depending on this, the organization’s marketing policy is being built with respect to price, market promotion and distribution.
As for travel companies, they offer their customers a tourist product. What is included in this concept? If we consider the product as an economic category, then its content is very voluminous. By definition, this is all that is offered on the market and can satisfy the needs or desires of customers. Thus, ideas and services, physical objects, etc. can act as a product. That is, everything that is attractive for acquisition.
Tourism product can be seen in two planes. On the one hand, this is a comprehensive service. In this sense, consumers of a tourist product acquire a set of services, which is implemented in one package. However, this perception is inherent only to customers. According to suppliers, a tourism product is something specific. So, for carriers this concept includes transport services, for hotels - accommodation, and for theme parks - entertainment. In this case, a tourist product is an integral part of a package sold to consumers. As you can see, from the point of view of suppliers this concept has narrower boundaries.
Features inherent in a tourist product
Despite the ambiguity of the concept under consideration, many economists attribute it to the non-productive sphere. Eighty percent of the tourism product in tourism is a service that has:
- intangibility;
- the inextricability of the links between production and consumption;
- variability;
- inability to store.
A tourist product (tourist service) is that which never takes on a materialized form. It cannot be tried, seen, or demonstrated until received. In addition, the acquisition of such a product does not lead the buyer to own anything. And this fundamentally distinguishes him from a material purchase.
Among the features of tourism products can be identified and their varying degrees of tangibility. For example, the products offered by agencies are a tourist package lunch at fast-food enterprises. It is a real object. A lesser degree of material severity have dinners in classic restaurants. The buyer does not come to these establishments not so much for food as for the atmosphere itself. It is even more difficult to catch those services that are offered by transport companies and hotels. Here, the buyer does not purchase a plane or a hotel, but transport and accommodation.
Tourist package
This concept includes a mandatory set of services offered to individual travelers or a group of people. Sometimes a tourist package is associated with a tourist product. Four elements are obligatory for him.
The first of them is a tourist center. This is a traveler's vacation spot with natural and cultural-historical, ethnic and environmental, infrastructural and socio-demographic opportunities. It is worth saying that the development of a tourist product is impossible without the inclusion of this element in it. After all, if there is no object of interest, then the organization of travel becomes impossible. For example, when applying to a travel agency, one person expresses a desire to go to France, another to the Pushkin Mountains, a third to the Crimea. However, regardless of the scale of the territory, each of them chooses the final object. For one, it is a country, for another - a specific place, and for the third - a region. Tour operators at the same time reduce the desires of visitors to the tourist center or a single option. After all, they will be required to deliver the traveler to a specific place of rest, where they will order transport. There will also be a hotel.
The second element of the tourist package is transport. This is a vehicle for travelers. With it, they get to the tourist center. The most popular mode of transport is, of course, aircraft. If the distances are not too long, you can travel by bus, car or train. It is worth saying that most of the costs in a tourist package are the cost of transportation. Moreover, the faster and more comfortable the mode of transport will be involved, the higher the cost of the trip itself.
The third element of the tourist package is accommodation services. This is a specific hotel for relaxation and accommodation. Moreover, it is located in the tourist center. The creation of a tourist product involves placing the consumer in hotels and motels, villas and apartments, campsites, boats, etc. The differences in places of rest and accommodation are in accordance with the type of agreement concluded. As for catering services, they are not a separate element of the tourist package, as they are included in the accommodation. The following combinations are accepted in tourism:
- VV - accommodation with breakfast;
- HB - accommodation with breakfast and dinner (half board);
- PP - accommodation with breakfast, lunch and dinner (full board).
Typically, tourists are given the opportunity to select and order any of the above combinations.
The fourth element that is included in the tourist package is transfer. It represents the delivery of vacationers from the airport, railway station or harbor located in the country of the final point of the route to the hotel selected for accommodation. Included in the shuttle and return trip. For delivery, buses or another type of road transport are used. In other words, by transfer is meant the transportation of vacationers within the boundaries of their chosen tourist center.
When you purchase a package that includes four required elements, the traveler receives significant discounts. This is due to the seriality of the product offered to him. However, the presence of only the basic elements is not a prerequisite. A vacationer may ask to include other services in the package.
Components of a tourist product
What makes up the structure of services offered to travelers? There are three elements to a tourism product. This is a direct tour, as well as additional excursion services and goods. This is the difference between a tourist product and a package. The last one is on the tour. In addition, it is an obligatory part of it.
The tour is the primary unit of the tourist product, which is implemented as a whole in the form of a specific route and specific dates. This item does not spend all the time allotted for travel. Tourists are given the opportunity to choose their own program of stay. This can be shopping and visiting clubs, a cultural program and walks in the city located in the recreation area. At the same time, the tour operator can offer various excursions and their own guides.
A specific material part of a tourism product is goods. These are postcards and city maps, souvenirs and booklets, special equipment, etc. The material part includes scarce goods or those which, in the place of permanent residence of travelers, will be more expensive.
Creation of a tourist product
The services that companies offer travelers, as mentioned above, are intangible. In addition, their production is carried out directly at the place of consumption. That is why the formation of a tourist product must be of high quality. Otherwise, fierce competition in the market will leave the company no chance of successful work in the future.
As a rule, the sale of a tourist product is not spontaneous. Buyers come to the agency on someone's recommendation. Moreover, according to studies, negative information will spread much faster than positive. That is why the creation of a tourist product should not bypass the issue of quality of service. It will be the key to commercial success. Excursion bureaus and hotels, restaurants and travel agencies can have the same material base, but at the same time they differ radically from each other precisely in terms of service. For some firms, this is the main trump card in the competition. In world practice, there are certain rules according to which an effective service is created. Their observance allows you to create and guarantee the further promotion of the tourism product. Let's consider these rules in more detail.
Conditions for creating quality services
Promotion of a tourist product will not be possible if the following principles are not taken into account during its formation:
- the maximum possible compliance of the services offered with the nature of consumption and the requirements of consumers;
- the inextricability of the relationship of the service with marketing, its key tasks and principles;
- the flexibility of the services offered to the client due to a change in his preferences.
In addition, the implementation of a tourist product will only be possible if the staff will be taken care of during its creation. This includes the creation of ergonomic workplaces, the clear formulation of the rules that are mandatory for all employees to fulfill, etc. Tracking such elements as politeness and friendliness, the ability to do their job efficiently, and also the mood for further self-improvement are necessary.
The third principle that must be observed when creating a tourism product is to optimize the activities of company management bodies. So, with a long chain of passage of the received order, there is a high probability of making mistakes. The optimal structure is the organization of the company’s activities when the number of elements included in it is extremely small. Only in this case, a tourist product can be created without compromising its quality.
There is another principle that is necessary to ensure the normal operation of the enterprise that provides services to travelers. It consists in comprehensive, complete and objective control over the quality of the service provided. And for this it is necessary:
- create special control services;
- create methodologies and criteria that will allow you to correlate the requirements of existing standards with the actual state of affairs;
- attract guests to assess the quality of the services provided;
- create a system of personnel self-control;
- constantly work with quality groups.
The need for comfortable conditions
Throughout its history, the market for tourism products has affirmed the unchanging role of enterprises providing services to travelers. Today, as in all previous times, a guest needs to be met, and then watered, fed and put to bed. Only unlike the famous fairy-tale hero, current travelers appreciate a high level of comfort and a sufficiently large number of services.
A modern tourist product must meet the different needs of guests. For example, a hotel with a good minibar and a developed service system is comfortable for our compatriots. At the same time, the snacks and drinks offered in it should be for every taste and preferably inexpensive. But American tourists find the hotel comfortable, in the rooms of which there is a place for making cocktails, and where they can bring ice at any time. Also, guests from this country will certainly appreciate the high level of security system. For Europeans, a well-developed network of catering establishments is important. They also pay attention to the equipment of the bathrooms. It is important for the Japanese when traveling to get the necessary information in a timely manner. They will also appreciate the presence of restaurants with oriental cuisine.
How can a company working in the market create a comfortable tourist product? The product, that is, the services offered to travelers, should be sufficient, and their versatility is important. The complex of components should certainly include such areas of comfort as:
- informational;
- economic;
- aesthetic;
- household;
- psychological.
Informational comfort
A high-quality tourist product can be offered to travelers only subject to a full description of the hotel, catering facilities, as well as all facilities included in the hotel industry. This information is provided to guests prior to arrival at the final destination of the route. It is important for the tour operator to show a photo reflecting the types of design of rooms and premises, as well as familiarize travelers with prices and the range of services offered by the hotel. A tourist can study such information on a specially created website of the company. With the help of modern technologies, guests can virtually walk around the hotel, look at the restaurant’s kitchen, get acquainted with the interior of the rooms, equipment of the fitness center, etc.
Important components of information comfort are also:
- special pictogram systems that can help guests navigate the walls of the hotel;
- Awareness of the working staff, able to answer all questions of tourists not only about the hotel, but also about the country to which they arrived.
Economic comfort
This concept includes a convenient settlement system for tourists. It includes bonuses and deposits, club cards and other incentive measures aimed at creating the desire of a traveler to use the services of excursion bureaus, catering establishments, etc. located in this hotel. Such a move is the goal of the entire created quality system. Particular attention is paid to club cards that allow you to attract and retain a customer. Moreover, withdrawing cash from circulation is a big plus in any business. After all, this greatly reduces the risk of plaque, fraud and theft. The client receives a real discount, saving his money.
Aesthetic comfort
Why do guests choose this or that hotel? They are attracted by the aesthetic decoration of the interior, creating an atmosphere of home warmth and coziness. It:
- a uniform style of premises corresponding to the general orientation of the enterprise;
- non-annoying guest colors;
- the use of finishing materials appropriate to the level of hygiene and safety.
Household comfort
This concept implies the creation of appropriate conditions necessary for a normal guest stay. Household comfort means optimal temperature and humidity in the premises, as well as the convenience of furniture. To create such conditions, enterprises use the necessary equipment. These are air conditioners and air purifiers. The purchase and installation of comfortable furniture is also important.
Psychological comfort
This is a very complex concept. It covers all the comfort components discussed above. If at least one of the elements listed above is missing, then the tourist's mood will certainly be spoiled.
But at the same time, psychological comfort is created by the staff. It directly depends on the respect and hospitality of the staff. Neglect of travelers leads to a sharp decline in the quality of the tourism product.
Drawing up and signing a contract
The fact of reaching an agreement between the parties, which are the seller and the buyer, should always be fixed legally. To implement this procedure, an agreement is signed on the sale of a tourist product. This document should be characterized by certainty and clarity of content. All this will predetermine the particular rights and obligations of both parties.
The main subject that considers a tourism product agreement is the provision of a range of services agreed upon in advance. , .
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