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Nina Christin Stikuts
FAIRWEGGISTAN – Definition of the target group and
approach to the most suitable marketing strategy
Fairweggistan
Fairweggistan – Definition of the target group and approach to the
most suitable marketing strategy
- Bachelor Thesis -
A project presented for the partial fulfillment of the degree
Bachelor of Business Administration in Tourism Management Saxion University of Applied Sciences
Bad Harzburg, 2014
Name: Nina Christin Stikuts Student number: 2431197 First examiner: Ab Willemsen Second examiner: Cora van Triest Client: Fairweggistan
Cover page image (Fairweggistan, n.d.)
Title page image ‘Fairweggistan logo’ (Fairweggistan, n.d.)
Foreword
Dear reader,
The present bachelor thesis contributes to obtaining the award Bachelor of Business Administration in Tourism Management granted by Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Deventer, the Netherlands. The thesis project was conducted in cooperation with Fairweggistan, a Dutch non-profit tour operator that organizes group travels to developing countries in Africa. Mart Hovens, who is the director of the organization, was looking for a bachelor student that supports his operations by carrying out a research and gathering valuable information that might help him and his clients in the future. When I heard about the project, I was directly interested in the topic, the foundation Fairweggistan and the cooperation with Mart Hovens.
I have always been curious about Africa but the semester ‘destination development’ increased my awareness of development projects, fair tourism and sustainability. Even though I have never had the chance to go to an African country yet, I think that the thesis project and the cooperation with Mart Hovens inspired me strongly.
I am glad that Mr. Hovens gave me the chance to work with him and I very much appreciate his support during the different phases and the several steps of my project. Moreover, I would like to thank my first examiner and supervisor Ab Willemsen for his guidance and motivation during the thesis semester. Furthermore, I would like to thank my second examiner Cora van Triest who gave me valuable feedback and great ideas during the meeting of the thesis proposal defence. I also would like to take the chance to thank Adrienn Eros, who took the time to give me helpful advices, answered my questions and motivated me, even though she has not been officially assigned as my research teacher.
Special thanks go to my amazing friends, especially to Meike and Madeleine, who have always been there for me and who were always willing to discuss the several processes of the thesis preparation. I also would like to officially say thank you to my great friend Maxi for helping me with difficult questions and for sharing her experiences with me. Finally, I would like to thank my parents for offering me the opportunity to attend the study and especially my mom for supporting and understanding me, particularly during challenging moments of the thesis semester.
Nina Christin Stikuts Bad Harzburg, Germany June, 2014
Executive summary
The present research was conducted in cooperation with the non-profit tour operator Fairweggistan and the foundation’s director Mart Hovens. Fairweggistan is located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and is specialized in the organization of group travels to developing countries. For the future, Hovens targets on attracting new customers in the most direct way and by applying an efficient and effective marketing strategy. Thus, the research project aims for a clear definition of the target group and a consistent advice about the most applicable marketing strategy. Therefore, two central research questions were designed:
What are the characteristics of the target group of the non-profit tour operator Fairweggistan?
To what extent are the current marketing activities suitable to the target group of the non-profit tour operator Fairweggistan?Within this project, a theoretical framework was developed by conducting a literature review based on the three core concepts ‘characteristics of the target group’, ‘marketing activities’ and ‘non-profit tour operator’. This methodological approach consists of definitions and a reflection of applicable models that contribute to the foundation of the research. Therefore, information was gained through the analysis of secondary data sources.
During the process of the field research, qualitative and quantitative data was collected by conducting interviews and distributing questionnaires. Three experts supportively contributed to the findings by answering questions that were based on a structured interview guide. Moreover, sixteen people who traveled with Fairweggistan or recently had the intention to do so replied to an online survey that mainly focused on the geographic, demographic and psychographic characteristics of the target group as well as the customers’ level of satisfaction. During this process of the project, primary data was created.
The analysis of the results of the field research showed that Fairweggistan’s target group consists of people who are at least fifty years old as this age group is attracted by structured group travels. Moreover, the target group is experienced in traveling to developing countries and uses the internet as the major booking tool for tourism products. However, most of the clients that traveled with Fairweggistan during the last three years found the tour operator through recommendations and/or their friendship to the director.
Additionally, an analysis of primary data provided a financial overview of the current marketing activities and contributed to the identification of the financial profitability. This analysis included a reflection of the yearly marketing costs, the expenses of each marketing tool and the amount of people reached by the applied marketing activities. Thus, the research revealed that the website was the most expensive marketing tool, of which a small amount of people have been aware.
For future improvement of Fairweggistan’s marketing strategy, the author presented three scenarios, which include possible changes and adjustments. By considering criteria and influencing factors, scenario
improvement of the website and the intensification of the current networking activities. Therefore, the recommendations were described in detail and an approach to a related implementation was set up. According to the business life cycle, Fairweggistan currently transforms from the start-up into the growth phase. Thus, the moment of conducting the research was well-considered and supportive for future operations. By implementing the given advices, the foundation can benefit from a tailor-made marketing strategy, which raises awareness of the tour operator, the continent Africa and community-based tourism.
Table of content
1. Introduction ... 8
1.1. Introduction of the client ... 8
1.1.1 Mart Hovens ... 8
1.1.2 Fairweggistan ... 8
1.2. Reasons for the research... 9
1.3. Objectives of the research ... 10
1.4 Global work breakdown structure... 11
1.5 Reading guide ... 11
2. Research part ... 11
2.1 Introduction of the research part... 11
2.1.1 First central research question ... 11
2.1.2 Second central research question ... 12
2.2 Theoretical framework ... 12
2.2.1 Introduction of the literature review ... 12
2.2.2 Characteristics of the target group ... 13
2.2.3 Marketing activities ... 13
2.2.4 Non-profit tour operator ... 14
2.3 Research methodology... 16
2.3.1 Introduction of the research methodology ... 16
2.3.2 Field research ... 16
2.3.3 Research strategy and design ... 16
2.3.4 Methods of data collection ... 17
2.3.5 Questionnaire design and measurement ... 18
2.3.6 Selection of research units ... 19
2.3.7 Analysis plan ... 20
2.4. Results ... 21
2.4.1 Introduction of the results ... 21
2.4.2 Results of the field research ... 21
2.5 Conclusion ... 31
2.6 Validity and reliability ... 33
2.6.1 Validity ... 33
2.6.1 Reliability ... 34
3. Advisory Part ... 35
3.1 Introduction of the advisory aart ... 35
3.2 Link between target group and marketing activities ... 35
3.3 Alternative solutions ... 36
3.3.1 Overview of alternative solutions ... 37
3.3.2 Criteria and assessment of alternative solutions ... 38
3.3.3 Choice for best alternative solution ... 39
3.4 Implementation of recommendations ... 39 3.5 Financial consequences ... 43 3.6 Conclusion ... 45 Afterword ... 46 List of References ... 48 List of appendices ... 51
1. Introduction
This first section aims to describe the role of the client, the reason for the research project and the research objectives. Furthermore, the research questions, which are investigated in this research project, are outlined within this part as well.
1.1. Introduction of the client
The thesis project was elaborated in cooperation with Mart Hovens, the director of the Dutch non-profit tour operator Fairweggistan. This organization was founded in 2011 and is a foundation that organizes group travels to African developing countries, such as Uganda, Liberia and Ethiopia. These group travels take place three to four times per year and consist of approximately five to eight clients per trip. Thus, 39 people have already traveled with Fairweggistan, from which two persons traveled with Mr. Hovens twice, during the last three years. Furthermore, all organized journeys were accompanied by the client Mr. Hovens himself.
1.1.1 Mart Hovens
The client Mart Hovens was born in Venlo in the year 1951 and studied biology, tropical medicine, education and development. He was always interested in Africa and so, he has worked as a teacher in Guinea-Bissau and Niger for 15 years. He also visited many African countries while traveling. From 2002 to 2010, he worked for a Dutch development organization during the process of decentralizing the organization into an international network. During his work and his experiences, Hovens recognized that the general attention and involvement of Dutch people for development and related projects decreased. Hence, he realized that group travels to developing African countries in a community-based way can stimulate the interest and involvement of the people. Hovens receives a monthly pension and does not target on a financial profit that might contribute to his income. With the revenues gained, he aims to cover the expenses of the organization of the group travels. To give an example, expenses incur for transportation as well as food and beverages. Hovens donates the remaining revenue to the development projects that are visited during the travels.
1.1.2 Fairweggistan
Since the tour operator Fairweggistan is a foundation, a board of three persons is involved in decision-making processes and frequent meetings. This board consists of Edward Wolfs who traveled with Fairweggistan in the past, Rob de Haan who generally travels very frequently and Caroline de Greeff who comes from the tourism industry and works at a similar organization named Fair2. These individuals have strong interest in sharing their knowledge and experiences as well as in finding new ways of traveling by taking sustainability and fair tourism into account. Furthermore, they are aiming for honor and a certain status presupposed the foundation is doing well and is operating successfully. The role as member of the board is voluntary basis and the participation does not connect to financial interests or expectations regarding to personal financial earnings. A table with the names and brief information of the board members can be found in appendix I.
Fairweggistan organizes group travels to Uganda, Liberia, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Rwanda and Burkina Faso. The tours take approximately two to three weeks and the offered packages do not include the flights to the destination. Anyway, Hovens provides the service to support the clients with information about and the booking process of the transportation. During the travel, customers are accommodated in hotels, but also experience housing within a development project. Visiting these projects is an essential part of the journeys and stimulates the contact to the local community. Other elements of the tourism products of Fairweggistan are sporting activities, as for instance cycling, but also visitations of meaningful places and cities.
MISSION:
Mart Hovens’ mission is “to bring people in contact with Africa in order to make them aware and to show them possible perspectives for actions” (Hovens, personal communication, 2014).
VISION:
In the next five years a minimum of 1000 persons are made aware of community-based development travel to Africa by Fairweggistan. At least 100 people participated in one of these trips and a minimum of 50% stays concerned and involved with Africa and its development. Fairweggistan is not operating alone but intensely works together with at least three similar organizations. The concept and the opportunity of development travel (or: travel to developing countries) is known by a large amount of people.
(Hovens, personal communication, 2014; own translation)
This vision was designed in 2014 and targets on the year 2019. Thus, it is a very recent guideline that reflects the future goals of the foundation.
OBJECTIVES AND AIMS OF FAIRWEGGISTAN:
Fairweggistan targets on community-based tourism in a sustainable manner, which includes interaction with the local people and respect of the countries’ culture and nature. The concrete objectives of the non-profit tour operator are formulated as follows:
1) Increasing the involvement of Africa as well as its development.
2) The foundation seeks to: organizing fair and interactive travels which bring the participants in contact with the daily lives of the African people, their culture and nature. The achieved revenue will be fully donated to the visited development projects.
3) The foundation does not make a profit.
1.2. Reasons for the research
Fairweggistan is a relatively new and small non-profit tour operator that is only targeting on the Dutch market so far. Mart Hovens started to make use of certain marketing and promotion tools, as for instance the implementation of a website, flyers, interviews for specialized magazines, and stands at an African festival in the Netherlands and at the Amsterdam Holiday Fair, which is focusing on alternative travel (Hovens, personal communication, 2014). Nevertheless, the foundation is still struggling with the clear definition of the target group and the choice of the most applicable and effective marketing strategy. As Fairweggistan has not conducted any concrete market research yet, Mr. Hovens would like to find out how
his potential clients look like and how they can be reached in the most efficient way. Moreover, he would like to learn if his recent marketing and promotion activities have been successful and what exactly needs to be changed in order to improve the foundation’s performance within the travel industry. Evaluation meetings with the clients took place after each trip, but the resulted knowledge about the travelers’ level of satisfaction has not been connected to the marketing strategy yet. By now, the gained knowledge has been exclusively linked to the products and the organization of the travels.
According to the organizational or business life cycle (Company Evolution & the Organizational Life Cycle,
n.d.), it can be said that Fairweggistan currently transforms from the ‘start-up’ into the ‘growth’ phase. The start-up phase “is for the firm to establish its distinctive competences and generate some initial product-market success”, whereas “the emphasis in the growth stage is on sales growth and early product diversification.” Additionally, “market segmentation begins to play a role, with managers trying to identify specific subgroups of customers and to make small product or service modifications in order to better serve them” (Product Arts, n.d.). The client, Mart Hovens, is currently enlarging the offered destination portfolio and he is highly interested in a clear definition of the target market. This objective shows that Fairweggistan leaves the ‘start-up’ phase and concentrates on growing. The research project supports the foundation to develop further in order to run “the business in a more formal fashion to deal with the increased sales and customers” (Janssen, n.d.).
A graphical illustration of the organizational life cycle model can be reviewed in the appendices (see appendix II).
1.3. Objectives of the research
The client does not have sufficient knowledge about the target group and the marketing and promotion tools he could apply. The research project produced concrete knowledge about the foundation’s products and the related qualities as well as possible bottlenecks. In addition, knowledge about the (potential) clients, their expectations and characteristics was gained. Also, information about efficient and effective marketing and promotion tools was produced and connected to the evaluation of the customers’ level of satisfaction as well as the target group’s characteristics.
Thus, the first objective of the research was to define the target group of the non-profit tour operator Fairweggistan by analyzing the characteristics of the current clients with the help of segmentation models and by defining the unique selling points of the products. Therefore, the main focus was on the customers’ demographics as well as their lifestyle in order to identify the characteristics that the (potential) customers have in common. Moreover, the additional main objective of the research project was to analyze the current marketing and promotion activities of the foundation and to find out which future marketing strategy would fit best to the offered products and the target group. This was done by considering the previously identified similarities of the clients, as these help to develop a marketing strategy, which reaches and attracts the target group as directly as possible. Additionally, the research targeted on the development of a consistent advice to the management problem. Thus, the aim was to formulate recommendations that improve Fairweggistan’s operations by implementing the most suitable
These objectives were achieved by:
(1) Analyzing the characteristics of the current clients of the non-profit tour operator Fairweggistan and the current level of satisfaction.
(2) Analyzing the existing promotion and marketing strategy of the non-profit tour operator Fairweggistan.
(3) Formulating an advice that provides the client with valuable recommendations to tackle the management problem and, which is based on the analysis of objective (1) and (2).
1.4 Global work breakdown structure
For better planning and a structured work process, the research was divided into several sub-projects, which demonstrate and clarify the different tasks which needed to be undertaken by the researcher. This division is called global work breakdown structure. Please review appendix III for a graphical illustration of the related processes.
1.5 Reading guide
The thesis report includes three main parts. The first section provides the reader with basic information about the project, which includes background knowledge about the client, an insight into the management problem and the overall objective of the project. Part two consists of a detailed description of the applied theory as well as the research methodology. Furthermore, the results are stated and a conclusion is drawn. The third and last part of the present thesis paper deals with the advice that targets on the management problem mentioned by the client and detailed described in section 1.2.
2. Research part
This second part of the thesis report seeks to describe the theoretical and methodological background of the research. Therefore, the research questions, a literature review and the applied research methods are presented.
2.1 Introduction of the research part
The objective of the research part of the thesis was to comprehend the relationship between the target group and the related marketing activities by respecting the non-profit character of the organization. Therefore, the focus of the research project lay on answering the central research questions and the related sub-questions that are stated below.
2.1.1 First central research question
The first central research question resulted from the research objectives in section 1.3 and is expressed as follows:
This fragment of the research is focusing on the definition of the target group by analyzing the current clients’ level of satisfaction. Since a concrete determination of the target group consists of several components, the following sub-questions supported answering the central research question:
SQ1: What are the geographic characteristics of the clients? SQ2: What are the demographic characteristics of the clients? SQ3: What lifestyle does the target group have?
SQ4: To what extent are the clients of Fairweggistan satisfied with the products? SQ5: How do the current customers find Fairweggistan?
SQ6: What are the unique selling points (USPs) of the products offered?
2.1.2 Second central research question
Related to the second main objective of the research project, the following additional central research question was formulated:
To what extent are the current marketing activities suitable to the target group of the non-profit
tour operator Fairweggistan?
In order to be able to answer this second central research question, the sub-questions below had a supportive function. This part of the research project aimed on the analysis of the current marketing strategy in order to clarify good and negative points as well as to elaborate valuable advices for the client.
SQ1: To what extent are the current marketing activities financially profitable?
SQ2: To what extent do the current marketing activities fit the clients’ lifestyle and demographic characteristics?
SQ3: To what extent do the current marketing activities fit the products’ unique selling points?
SQ4: What are significant current trends and developments within the tourism industry related to community-based travel to African countries?
2.2 Theoretical framework
This sub-section clarifies the core concepts of the present research project by making use of the theory and literature. Definitions of related terms and models stabilize the theoretical framework and create a consistent foundation of the research.
2.2.1 Introduction of the literature review
For developing a comprehensive theoretical framework of the research project, secondary and tertiary data got retrieved by reviewing dictionaries, articles of scientific journals and textbooks. Most of the data were found and accessible by making use of the online search engines Google, Google Scholar and Saxion online Library. Furthermore, the databases ‘Hospitality & Tourism Complete’, which is provided by Ebsco, and ‘Sage Premier’, provided the researcher with valuable information to acquire a stable foundation of the research project. Additional information about the applied databases, the textbooks and the search
All data were selected and assessed by applying the AAOCC criteria, which focus on the accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency and coverage of a source. A related checklist for the AAOCC criteria, including clarifications and helpful questions, can be found in the appendices (see appendix V).
In the following, the core concepts, characteristics of the target group, marketing activities and non-profit tour operator, are defined and related terms are explained for further clarification of the theoretical background of the research.
2.2.2 Characteristics of the target group
‘Characteristics of the target group’ is a concept, which consists of several definitions. According to Oxford Dictionaries (2008), the term ‘characteristic’ stands for “a feature or quality belonging typically to a person, place, or thing and serving to identify them”. A target group is “the particular group of people that an advertisement is intended to reach” (Cambridge Business English Dictionary, 2014) or in other words it is “a particular market segment at which a marketing campaign is focused” (Business Dictionary, 2014). Regarding the separate definitions of the terms included in the core concept ‘characteristics of the target group’ is defined by the researcher as follows:
The characteristics of the target group are the core features and qualities that a certain market segment, on which a marketing campaign is focusing on, shows.
Market segmentation
In order to define the characteristics of the target group and the target market, market segmentation helps focusing on the people who match with the company and the products offered. “Through market segmentation, companies divide large, heterogeneous markets into smaller segments that can be reached more efficiently and effectively with products and services that match their unique needs”. Precisely, market segmentation is “dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who have distinct needs, characteristics or behavior and who might require separate products or marketing programs”. The typical variables for conducting market segmentation are: geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong & Saunders, 2008). Another model that is utilized by researchers in order to divide a market is the DESTEP model, which includes the variables ‘demographic’, ‘ecological’, ‘social’, ‘technological’, ‘economical’ and ‘political’.
2.2.3 Marketing activities
The second core concept ‘marketing activities’ will be defined by explaining the sub terms separated from each other as well. Marketing is “a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and values with each other” (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong & Saunders, 2008). According to the Oxford Dictionaries (2014), marketing is “the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising”. The term ‘activity’ means “the condition in which things are happening or being done” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2014) or in other words, it is a “measurable amount of work performed to convert inputs into outputs” (Business Dictionary, 2014). Accordingly, the author defines ‘marketing activities’ as:
Marketing Mix
“Commonly known as the ‘4 P’s’, the marketing mix is a description of the strategic position of a product in the marketplace” (Assen, van den Berg, Pietersma, 2009). According to Kotler, Armstrong, Wong & Saunders (2008), the marketing mix is “the set of controllable tactical marketing tools – product, price, place and promotion – that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market”. The marketing mix can be seen as a toolkit, which functions as a supportive part of the marketing strategy. In case of the present research project, the marketing mix will be applied to build a link between the target group and the objective to give valuable advice about the current marketing activities of the client as well as possible changes Mr. Hovens could apply. Please refer to appendix VIII to view a descriptive illustration of the marketing mix model.
Push and Pull strategy
By promoting a product or service, a distinction can be made between a push and pull strategy. According to Kotler, Armstrong, Wong & Saunders (2008), the pull strategy is “a promotion strategy that calls for spending a lot on advertising and consumer promotion to induce final consumers to buy the products. If the strategy is effective, consumers will then demand the product from channel members, who will in turn demand it from producers”. This definition is very general and according to the packaged tourism product offered by Mart Hovens, it can be said that consumers demand and receive the product directly through Fairweggistan. In comparison, the push strategy is “a promotion strategy that calls for using the sales force and trade promotion to push the products through channels. The producer promotes the product to channel members to induce them to carry the product and to promote it to final customers” (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong & Saunders, 2008, p.995). In case of the non-profit tour operator Fairweggistan, the products are promoted through different marketing tools, but not actually handed over to additional channel members. This can be related to the small scale, on which Mart Hovens is operating.
Niche marketing
Niche marketing, also known as concentrated marketing, is “a marketing-coverage strategy in which a firm goes after a large share of one or a few submarkets” (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong & Saunders, 2008, p.987). “Recently niche marketing has become the focus of many studies that deal with consumer acceptance of value-added or differentiated products. Drawing from the consumer economics literature, there is a large body of studies dealing with consumer awareness and willingness to pay for local, organic, or environmentally friendly products” (Loureiro & Hine, 2001).
2.2.4 Non-profit tour operator
The third core concept of the research project, ‘non-profit tour operator’, is an essential part of both central research questions and describes the core characteristic of the foundation Fairweggistan. For clear definition of the meaning, the third core concept will be explained by separating the main terms ‘non-profit’ and ‘tour operator’. “Legally, a nonprofit organization is one that does not declare a profit and instead utilizes all revenue available after normal operating expenses in service to the public interest” and
literary” (What is a Non-Profit Organization?, n.d.). In case of the non-profit organization Fairweggistan, the profit is donated to development projects (see section 1.1). According to Page & Connell (2009, p.648), a tour operator is “an organization assembling and selling tourism products and services”. Thus, a non-profit tour operator as Fairweggistan can be defined as an organization selling tourism products and services by not declaring any profit but utilizing all revenue for the public interest and charitable purposes.
Community-based tourism (CBT)
“Community-based tourism is gaining prestige all over the world as an alternative to mass tourism. This new type of tourism favors a contact with the local community and the experimentation of different sensations” (López-Guzmán, Sánchez-Cañizares & Pavón, 2011). According to Salazar (2011), “CBT aims to create a more sustainable tourism industry (at least discursively), focusing on the receiving communities in terms of planning and maintaining tourism development”.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORE CONCEPTS:
“There are various ways that we can express such suggested (postulated) relationships between the variables” (Brotherton, 2008). Two of the three core concepts of the present research project can be identified as an independent and a dependent variable. ‘Characteristics of the target group’ is the so-called independent variable whereas ‘marketing activities’ represents the dependent variable. According to Brotherton (2008), the dependent variable, “is the variable you are more interested in as all the others are things that are likely to influence this end”. The suitable marketing activities are dependent on the characteristics of the target and so, the defined and applicable marketing activities are what you aim to achieve (Brotherton, 2008). The third core concept ‘non-profit tour operator’ is a so-called moderating variable as it “moderates the expected relationship between the independent and dependent variables” (Brotherton, 2008). The variable is not directly influenced by the other variables but is an essential characteristic which needs to be taken into account while conducting the research.
Figure 2.1 Relationship between variables (source: own illustration)
The variables of the present research project are not of direct measurable nature as they consist of complex dimensions. In order to limit the comprehension, operationalization defined the core concepts by identifying the different dimensions and the related indicators. This way, the definition of the concepts got limited and clarified. The models of the operationalization of the core concepts can be found in appendix VI and VII.
2.3 Research methodology
This third part of the research section of the report provides the reader with all important information about the research methodology and the chosen research approach.
2.3.1 Introduction of the research methodology
The thesis project was carried out by conducting a complex field research, including a qualitative and a quantitative research part. Both research types were applied in order to retrieve all information needed to answer the research questions and to gain proper knowledge about the circumstances of the management problem. In the following, the research methodology is explained and the related information is stated.
2.3.2 Field research
During the field research, primary data was gained whereas the different processes. As no concrete information of the foundation’s target group and the related, most applicable marketing activities was given, the researcher made use of a qualitative research as well as a quantitative research part. The following sections clarify the applied research strategies, the design, the methods of data collection, the measurement instruments, the selection of the research units and the related analysis plan.
2.3.3 Research strategy and design
The research is of explanatory and descriptive nature. According to Brotherton (2008), “descriptive research will be designed to establish a factual picture of the issue under investigation, whereas explanatory research will be concerned with explaining the why and how of the situation” (p.12). The combination of descriptive and explanatory research strategies is beneficial since on one hand, the researcher aims for the description and definition of an accurate of a group and on the other hand, the researcher wants to advance knowledge about an underlying process (Brotherton, 2008, p.13).
As previously mentioned, the conducted field research consists of a qualitative and a quantitative part. Including a qualitative research into the thesis project was supportive regarding the preparation of the quantitative analysis and the related questionnaire. Moreover, the qualitative research and its outcome enabled the researcher to widen the analytical scope and to increase the awareness of an additional point of view.
For the present project, the design of the quantitative analysis was conducted as a survey research. According to Brotherton (2008), “hospitality and tourism companies and organizations also conduct surveys to gather information on issues that are important to them” (p.112). This way, the researcher can “collect data on the customers’ experience of the product or service” (Brotherton, 2008, p.112).
Additionally, the researcher applied the quantitative approach of analyzing primary data that was already collected, independently from the research project. These data in the form of a financial summary were received from the client Mart Hovens (see appendix IX).
2.3.4 Methods of data collection
For collecting data, the researcher decided for a certain method while considering “the use of questionnaires, interviewing, observation and other, non-standard, approaches such as projective techniques that can be utilized to collect valid and reliable data” (Brotherton, 2008, p.133). However, the researcher made use of interviewing and designing a questionnaire.
Referring to Brotherton (2008), “research interviews can take a variety of forms and can be conducted in a number of ways” (p. 151). For the qualitative part of the field research of the present project, the researcher preferred interviewing on a face-to-face basis and made use of video-conferencing if a meeting in person could not be realized. “Indeed, one of the advantages of interviewing when compared to other more structured and deterministic methods of data collection is sometimes seen to be the degree of flexibility that exists while the process of collecting the data is taking place” (Brotherton, 2008, p.152). Even though the researcher valued the described flexibility, an interview guide structured the meetings and helped gaining the desired information. The interview guide can be found in appendix X.
The duration of the interviews was consistent about thirty minutes. Nevertheless, the first two meetings took approximately twice as long as the actual, recorded interview since the appointments took place in person and the researcher and the interviewees talked about related subjects before and after the interview.
According to the quantitative research, the designed questionnaire contained structured and unstructured questions which allowed the collection of quantitative as well as qualitative data. According to Brotherton (2008), “this middle route may be described as semi structured or a hybrid, in that it features both open and closed questions to capture both types of data and, in many cases, to address questions not only of a factual nature – the what, when, where, how often and why and how – for people’s behavior, attitudes, preferences or opinions” (p.135). Nevertheless, previously held interviews reduced the necessity of open questions and were beneficial for designing the questionnaire in the most efficient way. The reason for still implementing open questions was that the researcher aimed for clarifications of certain questions and wanted to receive concrete qualitative knowledge that contributed to answering certain sub-questions. The questionnaires were spread out by email and were made accessible through a web link that redirected the respondents to an online survey. Distributing the questionnaires via email is a convenient way that saves valuable time as the researcher did not have to travel in order to reach the respondents. Furthermore, the method is cost-efficient, which fits the limited budget that was available for the research project. Nevertheless, the researcher needed to be aware of the possibility that people do not use their email account frequently, changed their email address or do not want to participate in the research. Due to the small population and sample size,the researcher needed to put effort in attracting and motivating people to support the research project. Therefore, the researcher sent out one reminder, which was distributed two weeks after the original start of the qualitative data collection. The researcher needed to use the same email addresses.
Another method of collecting valuable data was the analysis of primary sources. Primary data sources in terms of a financial statement of the foundation Fairweggistan was significant and was provided by the
client, Mart Hovens. By making use of internal data and information, the researcher was able to define the efficiency and profitability of the current marketing activities and could link the related results to the defined characteristics of the target group.
Due to the different applied methods of data collection, a triangulation design was used. This approach is a mixed-method design that is “a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches” (Murray & Beglar, 2009, p.50). “In short, the results are validated from a number of different directions” (Brotherton, 2008, p.214).
2.3.5 Questionnaire design and measurement
As briefly introduced above, the questionnaire is of semi structured nature. Moreover, the survey was designed and distributed in the English language, even though the population was expected to be Dutch-speaking. The researcher was informed about the travelers’ sufficient English skills and so, a translation was not necessary. The questionnaire was developed by the researcher and transmitted via an online program and website called Survey Planet. Please refer to appendix XI to view the designed questionnaire in form of an online survey.
The questionnaire started with a short introduction in which the researcher thanked the participants, briefly introduced the research project and stated contact details. In addition, the approximate duration of 10-12 minutes was announced. The first ten questions of the survey contained questions about the general characteristics of the participants, for instance the gender, age, origin and level of education. “Questions designed to obtain information on the respondents’ characteristics are used to classify or group respondents with the same characteristics”. These kinds of questions are called classificatory questions or questions to obtain ‘categorical’ data and are subject to the nominal scale, “a relatively simple type of measurement scale” (Brotherton, 2008, p.141). Further on, these first general questions disburdened the respondents’ the start of the survey as they got confronted with basic questions that they could answer easily. The questions 3, 6, 7, 8 and 9 included an answer possibility called ‘other’ which enabled the respondents to add an answer that was not given by the researcher.
The second part of the online survey (question 11 to 16) dealt with questions about the respondents’ travel behavior, including their experiences, preferred booking tools and the travel companionship. Question 14 to 16 directly referred to the non-profit tour operator Fairweggistan, whereas question 11 to 13 aimed for general information. For the design of the questions 11 to 14 as well as question 16 the nominal scale was used. Respondents had the possibility to concretize the answers of the questions 11, 14 and 16 by making use of the additional answer possibility ‘other’. The question 15 aimed for clarification concerning question 14 that asked for the way how the travelers found Fairweggistan. Therefore, question 15 was designed as an open question that underlay the ration scale, “a more open-ended sale” (Brotherton, 2008, p.144).
Question 17 contained nine sub criteria for which the respondents had to indicate their level of satisfaction on a scale as follows: 1 (very dissatisfied), 2 (dissatisfied), 3 (neutral), 4 (satisfied) and 5 (very
designed according to the same structure but asked for the frequency of the respondents’ use of the internet and three different social media platforms. A total of four criteria had to be ranked on a scale five-point scale, including the following rankings: 1 (never), 2 (almost never), 3 (sometimes), 4 (often) and 5 (very often). These two questions within the second part of the survey underlie the interval scale which “provides a range of possible ‘defined’ responses or response options to a question or statement from totally negative at one end to totally positive at the other” (Brotherton, 2008).
The third part of the questionnaire (question 19 to 24) aimed for clarification concerning previous questions and targeted on information concerning other social networks that the respondents may use, what the travelers liked best and what they missed during the booking process and the travel itself. Furthermore, people had the possibility to give a general advice to the client, Mart Hovens, which could also be of importance for the present research project. The questions 19, 21, 22 and 24 were designed as open questions and as subject to the ratio scale since these follow-up questions referred to previous questions and aimed for clarifications.
A short statement according to the appreciation towards the invested effort and time completed the survey. The researcher tested the questionnaire multiple times in order to obtain complicacies and to measure the approximate time a completion of the survey would take. Moreover, feedback and valuable advices were gained from the thesis supervisor and a fellow student.
2.3.6 Selection of research units
For the research project, the researcher had to decide on a sampling plan, which is stated in the following. “Essentially, a sample is a smaller version of the whole it is obtained from that reflects the same characteristics as those of the whole. The whole is known as the ‘population’ and it is the relationship between this and the sample that is crucial for making valid inferences from the sample results to the wider population” (Brotherton, 2008, p.164). It can be distinguished between probability- and non-probability-based samples which relates to the equal or unequal “chance of being selected for inclusion in the sample” (Brotherton, 2008, p.168).
Qualitative data sampling can be categorized as “non-probability-based sampling, although they can also be used to collect quantitative data where statistical extrapolation (generalization) is not a primary concern” (Brotherton, 2008, p. 171). For the present project and the related interviews, purposive sampling was applied. This sampling strategy was chosen as certain persons “may be regarded as a ‘key informant’” (Brotherton, 2008, p.172). According to Brotherton (2008), “what is regarded as ‘key’ may vary” (p.172) and in the specific case of the present research project, the so-called ‘key informant’ had to fulfill the following criteria:
knowledge about Dutch market and its characteristics background in tourism industry or link to tourism industry
As recommendations for potential interviewees were needed, the researcher started inquiring the client Mart Hovens for first initial sample subjects. This way, the researcher was enabled to start the so-called ‘expert choice’ approach and was able to find further ‘key informants’ (Brotherton, 2008, p.172). In total, three experts were interviewed during the process of the qualitative research. The related coded transcripts can be found in appendix XV to XIX.
For the present research project and its quantitative part, the researcher made use of stratified random sampling which is a technique that belongs to quantitative data sampling and “assumes some prior knowledge off the population that can be used to separate it into distinct, mutually exclusive groups or strata” (Brotherton, 2008, p.170). The concrete knowledge which the researcher already has about the population contains following characteristic:
the population is most likely from the Netherlands
the population has already traveled with Fairweggistan or was interested in traveling with Fairweggistan
Thus, the researcher aimed for answers given by a specific group of people in order to monitor a possible variance.
The population consisted of 44 persons including all people who traveled with Fairweggistan and nine persons who showed interest in traveling with Fairweggistan during the last three years. A sample size of 41 to 42 respondents would be ideal as “we can be 95 per cent confident that the sample statistics are a true reflection of the population parameters” (Brotherton, 2008, p.168). After the researcher sent out the survey to the respondents, the population decreased from 44 persons to 38 due to email addresses that were not valid anymore.
As Fairweggistan is only operating for three years, the population of the quantitative research is relatively small and so, the researcher had to put as much effort as possible in contacting the respondents.
2.3.7 Analysis plan
In order to analyze the quantitative data collected during the field research, the researcher made use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Precisely, the researcher applied SPSS Statistics 21 for Windows for the analysis of the collected quantitative information. The questions of the online survey were coded and all related information was entered into the program. All gathered data were inserted and connected to the specific codes, which established a detailed overview of the answers of the respondents according to the several questions. With the help of the software SPSS Statistics 21, the author was able to thoroughly analyze the data, which included tests and coefficients that indicated relationships and dependencies of variables towards each other. Graphs and charts supported the outcomes of the analysis and underlined the described findings of section 2.5.2. This way, an overview of the answers and outcomes of the questionnaires was established and proportions and tendencies could be identified. For the mentioned relationships and dependencies that could be identified, the researcher made use of
to investigate any possible association between two variables, the chi-square test for independence can be used to test for this”. A statistically significant association between the variables is given if “the relevant statistic is less than 0.05 […]” (Brotherton, 2008, p.192). In addition, the phi coefficient and the test called Cramer’s V were applied during the quantitative data analysis. According to the phi and Cramer’s V coefficient, “its value will range from zero to +1 […]” (Brotherton, 2008, p.190).
2.4. Results
2.4.1 Introduction of the results
The following sections reflect the results derived from the qualitative and quantitative parts of the field research. The latter will be described subdivided into the results of the online survey and the analysis of the primary data.
2.4.2 Results of the field research
In order to clarify the results of the field research, the following section includes a reflection of the outcome of the qualitative part of the project and a separate sub-chapter about the results of the quantitative research. Due to the limited range of the present paper, the following results can be seen as the most important findings of the research. Please review appendix XV to appendix XIX for complete transcripts of the interviews and appendix XX to appendix XLIX for statistical outcomes.
2.4.3 Results of the qualitative research
In the following, the collected qualitative data are analyzed and presented to the reader. The related transcriptions of the interviews can be found in appendix XV to XIX.The transcribed interviews were coded with the help of main- and sub-codes that were determined by the researcher (see appendix XIV). This way, the information became structured and it helped the researcher to review and compare the collected data. The following results are presented by focusing on the core concepts at first and by demonstrating the linkages between the dependent and independent variables (‘characteristics of the target group’ and ‘marketing activities’). Even though the current trends and developments of the tourism sector are not presented as a core concept of the present research, the interviews included questions about the actual events and tendencies within the travel industry as they are significant for the research in general. Thus, one section of the present chapter is highlighting the related results in relation with the characteristics of the target group.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TARGET GROUP
The research showed that community-based products in general attract a wide range of people with different characteristics. Nevertheless, the qualitative research indicated that group travels to developing countries, as offered by Fairweggistan, are more attractive for people that are fifty years or older. The respondents of the conducted interviews stated a high demand for organized travels as a major reason and explained that the younger generations prefer traveling individually.
“So, um, but the difference is especially with group traveling: from what I can see, the people who are, or ask me ‘do you also have group travels?’ are fifty plus […]. […] but further for group travels I think the average age is fifty plus. I think people in their fifties and sixties, who want to travel most” (Caroline de Greeff, personal communication, 2014).
“The younger group, they are traveling more independent than the older groups, so, the older groups… The oldies, they like to organize things […]” (Adriaan Kauffmann, personal communication, 2014).
In addition, the research obtained that people, who are interested in the products offered by the non-profit tour operator Fairweggistan, have a social attitude towards the world, other people and the environment.
“I think most important and most general is that they are concerned about the well, um, world, I am not sure what the right word should be in English but, um, they are engaged to, well, to people all over the world and this can be really both. It can be people who are really interested in developing aid, but it can also be people who are in broad ways socially interested, also here and also people who are more environmental interested” (Caroline de Greeff, personal communication, 2014).
“I would say it’s the kind of people who want to do something good, uhm, so, have a sort of philanthropic touch […]. […] are really engaged in society […]. (Inge Gijsbers, personal communication, 2014).
According to the qualitative research, the target group of the client Mart Hovens is well-educated or educated above-average. This means that people booking a community-based tourism product normally graduated from a university of applied sciences or a university with at least a bachelor’s degree.
“[…] higher education, so at least I would say university of applied sciences or university […]” (Inge Gijsbers, personal communication, 2014).
“I think most are high-educated and of course you have a few who have their, um, middle education […]”
(Caroline de Greeff, personal communication, 2014).
The people that book travels with a tour operator that focuses on community-based tourism majorly expect an authentic experience that includes exploration, engagement with the local culture and the feeling to support the country, the natives or a valuable development project. Caroline de Greeff (personal communication, 2014), the interviewee of the second interview, explains what travelers are looking for:
“Traveling in a different way. So, um, not the touristic way, I think this is important. They’d like to know more about the culture and about the country and they’d like to know more about real life. And I think at Mart it’s also add that he really talks about the projects, discussions you have about development aid and so on.”
Inge Gijsbers (personal communication, 2014) reported: “Well, basically it’s the ?(…)? the real experience. In my opinion people are, they need to have the feeling that they are the first ones who explore ?(in a
point of view, uhm, but I think in the end that’s what they want. They want to…they want to help from a, ja, like ?(…)? angle, so in the end they need to have that feeling that they done something good or that they have contributed to […].
MARKETING ACTIVITIES
According to the conducted interviews, an important marketing activity, which can be independently seen from the target group and its characteristics during the initial phase, is networking. Frequent efforts to enlarge the amount of business contacts as well as the valuable usage of memberships with bigger association are of major importance. These networking tools can increase the foundation’s brand awareness and after being established networking can directly reach customers and can become a direct marketing tool.
“[…] by organizing a platform or becoming a member of a platform and a network” (Inge Gijsbers, personal communication, 2014).
“For Mart, what still works very well is his own network but if you’d like to create a broader network, find also more and more people you don’t know or who don’t know you […] (Caroline de Greeff, personal communication, 2014).
The research showed that large-scale and commercial trade fairs are not profitable in terms of reaching a high amount of potential travelers as high travel costs and charges would surmount the budget of a non-profit tour operator. Nevertheless, visiting larger exhibitions can be beneficial for meeting new people and extending the network.
“I think it’s not really profiting ‘cause most people who come there travel themselves or have been traveling themselves. So, I think…but it is interesting for the network, so, I think what Mart should also try to do more and more to get more and more email addresses and he has been starting with that on the fairs but I think he could try more because with that he can send them a newsletter and, well, then people will talk more and more about it I think” (Caroline de Greeff, personal communication, 2014).
According to print media, the qualitative analysis revealed that specialized magazines, which publish a printed version and also have an informative website, are an effective but expensive marketing tool. Caroline de Greeff mentioned ‘Columbus’ as a good example, but referred to the related costs and less expensive alternatives.
“[…] marketing, online marketing, via other organizations, like Columbus, it’s a magazine, an offline magazine but they also have a very, pretty good website and they sent a newsletter […]”
“Yes, I think it’s good to do so but this Columbus is really expensive but you also have, […], you also have others which are less expensive” (Caroline de Greeff, personal communication, 2014).
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TARGET GROUP AND MARKETING ACTIVITIES
In direct relation to the above stated findings concerning the characteristics of the target group, the qualitative research indicated knowledge of several possible marketing activities. The importance of a good and clear website was particularly stressed during the conducted interviews. Respondents highlighted the necessity of concentrating on search engine optimization. According to Davis (2006), “SEO - short search engine optimization - is the art, craft, and science of driving web traffic to web sites”. “Learning how to construct web sites and pages to improve – and not to harm – the search engine placement of those we sites and web pages has become a key component in the evolution of SEO”. In line with these general definitions, the respondents explained:
“[…] but what works best is that they find you on your country.”
“So, most of my clients are just googeling for a country and especially for the countries that are pretty rare, I am highing the, in the list of Google” (Caroline de Greeff, personal communication, 2014).
“I mean if you are looking for organic search, I said you have to advise him to get a ?(…)?, so this text or website has to be in such a way that basically people are actually looking for this specific roundtrip by using the right combination of words in your website for providing the right context, then you will end up higher in Google. But I said if you just have, I don’t know, ‘Africa’ and then ‘travel’ I said you are competing with the entire world...” (Inge Gijsbers, personal communication, 2014).
The interviewed experts were critical about how efficient the website of Fairweggistan can be successfully found by people who do not know the concrete address of the homepage or the name of Hovens’ non-profit tour operator. Caroline de Greeff (personal communication, 2014) stated the potential of improving the search engine optimization:
“[…] then of course he should do it but I think he could better focus on a good website, especially his search engine optimization, I don’t know how good you can find him on his countries but he has some pretty interesting countries of course for which he doesn’t have many competitors. So, that’s why I think he can really gain more traffic to […]”.
The interviewee Inge Gijsbers (personal communication, 2014) tried to find Fairweggistan by entering specific key words into Google but could not succeed.
“Ja, I tried that…when I came home I googled him but no…and it’s too broaden. Like as I said, if he expects to end up higher in Google, he needs to be clever using these key words. I mean I wouldn’t advise him to produce add words because that also doesn’t make sense. I mean it’s too small, the organization”.
The interviewed experts answered doubtful in reference to the usage of social media platforms. In order to reach a larger amount of people, one has to have time and knowledge about social media and the certain platform. Frequent updates seem to be necessary to keep people informed and curious about the company. In case of the client Mart Hovens and his non-profit-oriented foundation, social media was seen as a possible marketing and promotion tool but not as one of the most important once. Out of the
applying social media can be simplified and minimized by engaging the travelers to write reviews, statements or short reports that might be interesting for future clients.
“…but it’s difficult to be good on social media, right? I think it’s very difficult to promote your company on LinkedIn, so, you have to spend a lot of time doing it because you have to continuously send interesting things, so, a lot of people find it very hard to come up with something interesting, so, ‘let me answer this email first’ and they forget about social media. I think it’s important but it’s only… when you are using it wisely it’s interesting, otherwise don’t do it” (Adriaan Kauffmann, personal communication, 2014).
“Maybe he could start a little bit with Facebook or maybe with Twitter because I think discussion about development aid it’s more on Twitter and Twitter is also for elder public. Facebook is being used more and more by also older people so it could be interesting but it’s just additional. It will never help your real marketing. So, it’s always when you have a campaign, then it’s interesting because then people will see you more and more everywhere but I think for Mart it costs a lot of time and effort to go deeply into social media so, I wouldn’t advice him to do so, to do much” (Caroline de Greeff, personal communication, 2014).
“I mean if you are using social media get your former travelers writing for you to make them your ambassador” (Inge Gijsbers, personal communication, 2014).
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TARGET GROUP AND CURRENT TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT
The research gave exploration about current trends and developments influencing the travel industry as well as travelers and potential clients. First of all, Africa as a tourism destination is continuously growing and is getting more popular which influences specialized tour operators in a beneficial way.
“I don’t know, but another trend which is in favor of what Mart is doing is that tourism to Africa is growing […] very fast, so, I think in the coming ten years, or maybe twenty years, Africa will become a tourist destination. Africa is of course not a country, but a lot of countries in Africa will become (laughs), you know, some people think Africa is a count […] Ja, but a lot of countries in Africa will become a tourist destination in the coming twenty years and so, if you are one of the first specializing in tourism products in Africa ja, […] it’s good, it’s not a decreasing market, it’s growing, so, that’s good” (Adriaan Kauffmann,
personal communication, 2014).
“Well, definitely I think that Africa, I mean everybody is talking about the BRIC countries but I think that Africa is the new, is the continent after the BRIC I would say” (Inge Gijsbers, personal communication, 2014).
Secondly, the general demand for safety and security while traveling is high and increased during the last decades. Therefore, tour operators have to appease their clients in case of insecurities and have to be aware of the slow process of the improvement of Africa’s image. Anyways, the characteristics of the target group of Fairweggistan might be beneficial as most of the people are experienced travelers who visited countries outside Europe before.
“Ja, I think a lot of people think that Africa is very violent and insecure so, ja, therefore, the number is not very big, ja, the percentages of growing they are there so, um, it’s growing, slowly but I think the image of Africa in particular is not good yet” (Adriaan Kauffmann, personal communication, 2014).
“Yes, yes, absolutely, absolutely. And it’s mostly if something is in the news that it’s not safe to go somewhere. […] But it takes time, it really takes time before people go there, before they find you”
(Caroline de Greeff, personal communication, 2014).
“It’s not they, you know, always stayed in Europe and then out of the sudden they decide to book something different. […] They have a lot of travel experiences before” (Inge Gijsbers, personal communication, 2014).
Finally, the research identified that the target group for community-based, fair and sustainable tourism grows which might be related to the demand of people to connect a social background with their vacations. Nevertheless, the niche market ‘community-based travel’ remains small and can be seen as a sub-market of adventure travel.
“Yes, I think the target group has become bigger and bigger […]” (Caroline de Greeff, personal communication, 2014).
“I mean of course community-based tourism is a niche, is a niche, niche” (Inge Gijsbers, personal communication, 2014).
2.4.4 Results of the quantitative research
This section presents the results of the survey that was conducted in line with the present research project. Therefore, the core concept ‘characteristics of the target group’ is clarified by dealing with the several sub-aspects that contribute to this variable. Moreover, the results of the analysis of primary data will be stated within this chapter of the thesis paper.
Firstly, the results regarding the categorical data that were gathered through the classificatory questions of the survey will be described. These data include the customers’ demographic, geographic and psychographic characteristics. Secondly, the questions concerning the travel behavior will be analyzed and stated by the researcher. Thirdly, the travelers’ level of satisfaction regarding the non-profit tour operator Fairweggistan and its offered products will be discussed within the present chapter. Finally, the analyzed characteristics of the target group will be related with the gathered information which link to applied and current marketing activities.
In addition, the researcher will present the analysis of primary data that consider the financial background of the currently applied marketing activities of Fairweggistan.
DEMOGRAPHIC, GEOGRAPHIC AND PSYCHOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
The total number of sixteen respondents consists of nine male travelers (56.3%) and seven female clients (43.8%). A majority of 56.3% (nine persons) indicated to belong to the age group of 61-70 year olds
