INTRODUCTION

The world is becoming more competitive with each passing day thus necessitating the need of formulation of strategies for remaining competitive with each change. The tourism sector has also been experiencing the same competitive wind the business sector has been experiencing and therefore the need for tourism marketing a practice that has not been in existence for a long time. Tourism marketing is the process through which the values of a specific tourist activity or attraction with the aim of attracting tourists or it can be simply be defined as the process of selling a dream (Fyall and Garrod 2005).

This marketing plan aims at making Lake District more than a site seeing destination for nature lovers but also a destination for the entire family. The National Park provides a wide range of activities and attractions which cut across generations and age groups ranging from nature walks, site seeing, camping, hiking and boat riding among others. The marketing plan identifies a set of activities which can be enjoyed by the entire family with the aim of making Lake District the number one destination for family vacations. This is done by identifying various factors both internal and external that influence the operations of Lake District. The marketing plan objective encompass a three year plan through which Lake District will increase the number of family visitors through addressing the composition of the attractions activities that are marketed, the support services such as accommodation and transport and the inclusion of testimonials all implemented through a specific marketing model.

Lake District SWOT Analysis

One of the most important information that consumers need before travelling to a specific destination is the main reason to travel and the pros and cons of the destination.  SWOT analysis is a tool that was developed to analyze both the internal and factors that are a crucial to an organization and in this case the tourist destination. Therefore this analysis will provide the management with the information needed to make decisions on what will be included in the marketing messages and which areas need improvement to make Lake District the number one family destination. The attraction posses a number of strengths key among them being the natural beauty that the park provides. Lake District possesses a magnificent scenery and its famed for its beauty which is made up of natural sceneries such as St Herbert’s Island and the Wast Water and the natural growing forest and flowers (Rose 2008). The park also has a very quiet and clean environment which offers a perfect getaway from the hustle and noise of work or school. The park also boasts of a good range of outdoor and indoor activities, a wide range of cultural offers and a good reputation among certain groups such as nature walk lovers. The park however has a number of weaknesses key among them being a small car parking, erosion of footpaths and lack of accommodation capacity (Sutherland and Canwell 2003).

The park also offers a number of opportunities such as a big market for accommodation services, park and ride schemes, developing of festivals as alternative attraction and expansion of the parking space. The park does not lack threats inform of changing tourism trends and policy and structure changes. The SWOT analysis gives an in-depth analysis of the factors that are influential in the tourism industry and hence the potential of the proposed plan. The tourism industry being peculiarly independent, the SWOT analysis gives an independent analysis of Lake District thus providing the perfect information for the objectives of the plan.

            Marketing Objectives

These can be simply be defined as the position in the chosen market that the organization expects to occupy in the near future (Devashish 2011).  They are usually classified as either short term or long term depending on the time period in which the plan expects to achieve them. The marketing plan having a maturity of three years will be made up of various short term objectives all aimed at achieving the long term target. The first objective of the plan is to increase efficiency improving service delivery to its customers. This will be achieved through clarification of the roles and duties of partners, creation of short term priorities and a change of methods of service delivery. This objective will be achieved within the first year with the related short term targets being limited to three months.

The second objective for Lake District plan will be to develop close links with the regional transport agencies and operators with the aim of them being involved of development of tourism in the area. This will be through providing a wider range of transport services and more frequent trips to the region which leads more tourists being able to visit the park. The plan also aims to create a close partnership with the local council so as to improve the parking facilities and coordination and control of traffic especially in the peak season. The final objective will be to create a close link with local accommodation providers so as to coordinate with them in the creation of more enticing holiday packages that will help attract the target market in the beautiful National Park. These objectives will be implanted in three phases each phase limited to one year.

            Marketing Strategies

Marketing strategies involve two main techniques which are market segmentation and target marketing. Market segmentation involves the subdivision of the market into several groupings with each group being identified for its unique preferences (McLoughlin & Aaker 2010). This technique uses four main approaches namely demographics, psychographics, behavior and geographical location. In the marketing plan the demographics approach is being used and has singled out the family group of the market as its most appropriate segment of the market. Therefore the marketing tools, messages and adjustments should be made to fit the needs of the family segment. The second technique which is targeting and positioning which involves choosing one of the market segments and using the most appropriate marketing tools for the segment and positioning the business strategically to be the segment’s preferred option (McLoughlin & Aaker 2010). This will involve increased family oriented marketing of Lake District diversity, beauty and all family activities which aim at convincing families to try out the Park. The development of family holiday packages will be an incentive for families to make the trip as there will be guaranteed of enjoying all that Lake District offers.

The Ansoff growth matrix is another important strategy that can be used in the implementation of a new strategy. The matrix provides the appropriate market approach for each situation which a firm may be faced with. In this case it’s marketing an existing product to new customers whereby the most appropriate method is market development. The organization intends to use various incentives such as accommodation offers for families that visit the park and identifying various activities that the whole family can enjoy.

            Marketing Models and Theories

Just like any other business, various tourist attractions can enhance competitiveness which is the ability to increase expenditure, to consistently increase the number of visitors offering them memorable experiences without compromising the quality and value of the natural capital while still enhancing the wellbeing of the destination’s residents (Kozak and Andreu 2006). It’s upon this argument that tourism models are constructed around with the main aspects being the resource environment and the local environment or the destination. Unlike the theories, the models single out the two main aspects of tourism whereby the question of the destination comes in which is henceforth determined by the resources available at each of the tourism destinations. The resource environment is the determinant of which specific destination to choose from as it involves resources such as transport, accommodation, events, attractions and food and drinks. The most influential however are accommodation and transport since they guarantee a hustle free holiday and for the family which is our target market it’s a necessity. The main focus of the marketing message and information provided on the website should be inclusive of all the above resources with transport and accommodation being more outstanding. This is because the two factors are the main determinants of tourists’ decisions. There are other emerging issues that may be included in the model such as the collaborative economy, the rising importance of UGC and social platforms and the increased use of mobile devices. The plan will also entail a comprehensive strategy on accommodating sites such as GetAround, Zimride, social media marketing platforms such as twitter and Google+ and the development of a mobile website to provide a customer friendly platform for the large number of mobile users.

            Marketing Mix

The success and effectiveness of a plan is determined by the relationship and coordination of various factors that encompass the act of tourism. These factors will therefore be addressed individually to come up with a comprehensive plan which is made up of individual elements which when combined create a completely unique product.  These factors constitute the marketing mix which involves product, place, partnerships, promotion and price. These factors offer a differential advantage to an organization enabling it to create something unique that is outstanding among the competitors (Fyall and Garrod 2005). The product is the most important factor and is central to all marketing mix decisions which in tourism mostly refer to the destination. However it is important to note that the people do not buy the product but the expectations or the benefits of the product which is its ability to satisfy the consumer’s needs (Devashish 2011).

Price is the factor that is used to produce revenue however in Lake District there is no entrance fee and therefore the main influence of price is on factors such as accommodation and transport. Therefore there is need for collaboration between the park, the locals and the accommodation stakeholders to have competitive prices and competitive holiday packages. Place is the other factor but is unique in tourism in that the consumers travel to the product and the location of the attraction only provides the environment to satisfy the ‘ideas’ in the mind of the tourist (Devashish 2011). Promotion is the methods and tools of spreading the information about the product and encouraging them to buy. The final factor is partnerships which is unique to the tourism mainly because tourism is a service whose enjoyment is facilitated by other factors. In Lake District, the success of the attraction is dependent on other services such as transport and accommodation whose effectiveness ensures that the customers ‘ideas’ are satisfied.

            Conclusion

Success is not an event but a process; this is vindicated by the strategic marketing plan of District Lake which is conglomeration of various processes. The most important part is the mission and the objectives of a plan because they give a sense of direction to the entire process. It is therefore important to note that each stakeholder in any sector of the economy forms an important part of the success and failure of any of them to do their part puts an entire process at risk of being a failure. The success of the Lake District strategic plan should therefore be attributed to all the stakeholders since the shear goodwill is a positive contribution

References

Devashish, D (2011), Tourism Marketing, New Delhi: Pearson Education India.

Fyall, A & Garrod, B (2005), Tourism marketing: a collaborative approach, Clevedon: Channel View Publications.

Kozak, M & Andreu, L (2006), Progress in tourism marketing, Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Rose, LA (2008), The Lake District. Richmond: Crimson.

Sutherland, J & Canwell, DS (2003), Student Resource Book for Edexcel, London: Nelson Thornes.

McLoughlin ,D & Aaker, DA (2010), Strategic market management: global perspectives, Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley

Moschis, GP (1994), Marketing strategies for the mature market, Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books.

 
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