TOURISM 19: MATO - Notes

1) Kruger Nation Park'c Core offering that it  proposes to consumers would be the tranquility and excitement associated with the wild and its inhabitants. The expected offering would be that of having quiality emgagement with animals as well as good service and accomodation for the amount of money that they pay. Lastly the augmented offering of Kruger would be the abundance of wildlife that is offered knowhere else and the attention it pays to customer needs and perhaps the provision of suivineers for the gueasts or special loyalty rates.


2)The Five Tourism brand names I have mentioned include: Thompsons Tours, British Airways, Southern Sun, SPEAR and Disney world. I chose Thompsons Tours as I feel that as a company they have been extremely successful and due to their long existence are found to be reliable and world known for providing tours world wide AND THEIR BRANDING MAKES THEM RECOGNISABLE for this. The reason for British airways being mentioned is that they are seen as reliable and reasonable means of air transport which provide world wide access. Their blue and red use of colour also seperates them making them distinctive from other airlines. Sun Internationals resorts may not all be branded under one identity (making them both a family and individual brand) makes them harder to recognise as a brand, however their good service and quality offerings are recognisable as well as the logo. SPEAR located in Western Cape brands itself as green and sustainable and its actions stand true to its branding image and the message it conveys to consumers. Lastly Disney World is branded as the ultimate theme park and known world wide. Again this is a family and individual brand as it has various branches and provides memorable memories done through its offerings and the outstanding brand image

3)Many Consumers are willing to pay more for branded tourism offerings for various reasons> In terms of Maslows Hierachy-purchasing a branded product will provide a sense of status amongst their peers. Branding is also an identity and therefore represents the offering which people like to see as a tangible element of thus the brand. People may veer away from unbranded offerings as they are unaware of what they are purchasing and consumers lack the emotional aspect with nothing to relate their offering with.

4)The four stages of product Life Cycle include Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline. In referral to a visitor attraction. The introduction will be the participation of people enjoying and exploring an area where no development has occurred, next in the Growth stage the area gains more attention and thus starts to establish and develop into an attraction. At Maturity the profits slow down and reach a stable level of which the time can vary. At the last stage the area has lost both market shares as well as interest from consumers and will thus decrease in visitors and capital. From here it can either rejuvenate itself or choose to close down.

5)Hypothetically speaking if I was a Hotel Marketer I would generate new ideas for new offerings by firstly getting ideas then short listing these ideas. Next stage would be to carry out a business analysis. Next I would offer my development which would lead to Test Marketing. Lastly I would launch my new idea.



                                                                       Case Study Questions

• 1) In my opinion the Southern Sun Logo represents clarity, sophistication and relaxation within its simplicity

• 2) Southern Sun chose to modify its brand firstly due to its expansion internationally. Another reason was that the "mother brand was well loved" and had an "emotional appeal". Consumers were searching for more of a sophisticated and cleaner offering and thus the branding had to comply with this as well as to differentiate itself according to star ratings

• 3) Branding is important as it represent the company and offering of which gains the consumers attention. Branding represents trust, reliability and a glimpse as to what is offered. A brand will also open the gates for consumers to compare it to various other brands and thus you may lose out if your brand is not appealing.

• 4) The Southern Sun and Garden Court Slogans " You've Arrived" and "Great Stay, Great Stay" are just as important as their respective logos. " You've Arrived" proposes that where you are is the ultimate destination and you have thus reached what you are searching for as well as the hotels awareness that you have arrive and know they are there to serve you. "Great Stay, Great Stay" in my opinion is slightly harder to analyse perhaps due to the repeat. It never the less implies that your stay was enjoyed and that is what they wish to provide.

• 5) The challenges of a monolithic brand include that the brand is not always consecutively recognizable and thus maintaining an image as well as a consistency of high standards can be hard to control. The opportunities are that expansion is possible and a certain element of trust and loyalty from consumers can be built. Not only this, but it could result in branching in order to reach higher profits.

• 6) Tourism in South Africa has a large impact on this hotel group as it creates exposure and advertisement for the brand. This in turn results in higher occupancy rates not only in South Africa but also worldwide.

1. Core Offering - The core offering is what motivates a tourist to visit a certain place, in this case the City Lodge. The City Lodge aims to communicate to its public that people can fufill their purpose of staying at the hotel while in a home environment such as business travelers.
Expected offering - Thid referes to things that guests expect to recieve from an offering, example, City Lodge offers room service, internet connections, tv, securit and privacy. The expected offering includes tangable products and intangable services, which however both need to be present in order for the consumer to purchase the "core offering".
Augmented offering  - This referes to extra things whih makes the organisation have a competative advantage over its competitors. The Augmented offering is both tangable and intangable. For example City Lodge caters for people of all types of income.

From Sonja:  The Expected Offering is also intangible and tangible, and is about the the features that enable the purchase and the experience.  Otherwise this is a really good explanation, well done girls.

Nice work Thakiraah AND KAYLEIGH (y)- makes it easier to understand -Stell and Jacques

2. Thompsons Tours - They are globably recognised and offer tours to many different parts of the world, they also offer comfort while on tour.
South African Airways - Flights travel to many destinations around the world and their destinct advertising promote South Africa. It is also an upmarket airline but also caters for all income earners, e.g Mango for the lower salery earners.
Avis - Globably recognised aswell as offering exceptional services
Southern Sun - Big family and individual brand with many establishment in various parts of the world. And they are also very well recognised.
Ushaka Marine World - Well know for its adventure tourism and wild sea life.

3. A branded name is more recognisable and consumers are aware and confident on what to expect it also allows for differenciation, which means the organisation stands out from its competitors. Consumers are encouraged to purchase particular offerings because they will be provided with the benifits that they expect as well as become loyal to that particular brand.

4. There are four stages of a tourism life cycle, Introduction stage, Growth Stage, Maturity Stage and dedline stage.

Introduction stage - This is when the new product is introduced into the market for example Virgin Atlantic took its first flight.  

Growth Stage - This is when the amount of profit and sales begin to increase, Vigin Atlantic started to sell more seats on their flights as well as becoming more popular.
 
Maturity Stage - The amount of profit and sales slow down and can be maintained by contionious marketing and it can also be challenging due to new competitors entering the market. Virgin Atlantic Airlines are making steady progres in terms of pofit and sales as well as trying to compete with competitors entering the market.   

Dedline stage - Sales may decline slowely due to technology, competitors and they may loose strategic direction or consumers changing their tastes.

sun city- core offering- sun city caters for a variety visitors. they offer a variety activities for all sorts of tourist eg,  wally of waves, golf, casino, water park, theme park and many more.....

expected offering- the level of service should be at its highest level to satify the consumer. sun city offers alot and in most cases they meet the expectation of their consumers.

Augmented offering- which is tangible and intangible.This is where competition come into place. sun city offers to al sorts of people and to any one that wants to relax.

1. The Blue Train: high class service, while on the move.
2. Thompsons Tours: because it is everywhere in the world and you should get the same type of service.
3. Flight Centre: 'unbeatable' meaning no other airline booking agent can beat there prices.
4. South African Airways: discover true service throughout your flight.
5. S.A. Tourism: they are a well known tourism agencing.

Branded tourism offerings are better known by many people and they are easily recognizable such as Virgin and Nike and Woolworths and many people can relate to them than the unbranded offerings.

Introduction stage, Growth stage, Maturity stage and Decline stage:

Introduction stage: For example when a hotel starts up and is new to the scene.

Growth stage: check out the competition around them, to gain new customers and get them to switch brands.

Maturity stage: when customers stay with your brand. They slow down and become stable.

Decline stage: popularity of the hotel slowly goes downhill.  Clients switch hotels, and sales may drop and go into loss and have to close down.

Step one: Getting ideas - seeing what new ideas and offering there are.

Step two: short listing - look through all of the ideas and see what ones suit the offerings.

Step three: Business analysis - see what works and see if it generates profit and sales.

Step four: Offering development - this is when you bring in the offering to the market.

Step five: Test marketing- this is where you launch the offering that you have and asses the level of consumer demand.

Step six: Launch- this is where you finally introduction the offering to the market.

• 1. It represents upper class, comfort, luxury and personal service.
• 2. Not everyone can afford fancy hotel prices. So they making different all range priced hotels. They change it to make it more appealing to business international/leisure travels.
• 3. Because Southern Sun is such a big and well known hotel group and they need to cater for every inch of the market.
• 4. Southern Sun has a sun picture above or next to the word ‘Southern' and it seems more upper class.

      Garden Court has a greener, relaxed look and feel to it because it has a small picture of a leaf on it.

  5. The Southern Sun brand was getting lost in the clutter. There was an opportunity to pull back Garden Court  and Southern Sun Hotels and Resorts to the Southern Sun family and change it with some of Southern Sun's flair. By developing the slogons.

• 6. Everyone wants something different such as the hotel Sun Square, which is aimed at upper economy   travellers, who wish to pay for VFM accommodation. Perfect balance between business and pleasure.

1. The three semi-circles encircled into one another represents the various hotel family brands that the Southern Sun has.
2. The company decided to modify its brand because the managers wanted to expand the business internationally.
3. It is important for businesss to have a band name because it makes the business more recognisable to potential clients. It also ensures customers of what they will be receiving. It is something that cuts across countries, classes and cultural backgrounds. This is particularly important for the Southern Sun because it is an international brand. This is what makes an organisation or destination unique from its competitors as customers associate a brand with a particular intagibel feeling.
4. Garden Court's slogan "Great Stay, Great Stay" is a repetition which implies that you will enjoy your stay at the hotel. you will receive everything that you want.Southern Sun on the other hand, "You've Arrived!" indicates to the customer that they have finally arrived at their final destination. it also has an emotional feeling to it as it makes them feel like they have reached a place which is familiar to them.
5. Sothern Sun is a big international brand wth a number of small family brands such as Garden Court. it could be challenging to maintain all those small family brands under the big Southern Sun name. If one family brand receives bad publibity then it could affect the entire Southern Sun name. It could also prove quite costly to market these brands as well as maintain the promotions. An opportinity is getting more exposure to clients through the various family brands. If one brand benefits then all the family brands get good impressions.
6. if foreigners stay at the Southern Sun hotels in South Africa and have a good experience, they will continue supporting the hotel brand wherever they go around the world.