Presenting a suitable model for Shiraz tourism marketing according to p7 model

Dissertation for Master's Degree in "MA"

Field: Business Management

Treatment: Marketing

Abstract

This research was conducted with the aim of identifying factors affecting tourism marketing in Shiraz city in 2013. The research method was applied in terms of purpose and descriptive survey in terms of data collection method. The statistical population of the research included managers and experts involved in the issue of tourism marketing, of which 150 people were considered as the sample size using Cochran's formula and random sampling method. The data collection method was based on a 40-question researcher-made questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated using the Cronbach's alpha method and the combined reliability coefficient, the value of which was obtained in both methods for all variables above 0.7. Also, construct and content validity were used to test the validity of the questionnaire, which was confirmed by the relevant experts in the content validity of the questionnaire, and in the construct validity, the findings indicated the validity of the questionnaire. The analysis of the information obtained from the implementation of the questionnaires was done through SPSS and Smart Pls2 software in two descriptive and inferential parts (structural equation modeling). The results of the research showed that the seven factors of the 7p model (product, price, advertising, location, people, the process of selling the product or providing a service, and evidence and physical facilities) had a significant effect on tourism marketing in Shiraz city.

Key words: tourism marketing, product, price, advertising, physical facilities

Introduction

Tourism marketing is one of the most important components of marketing management in today's era, which includes forecasting the needs and satisfying the current tourists and It is coming, so that it has put the activists of this field in serious competition with each other. The importance of this concept is such that advanced countries have done important activities to strengthen it, such as: working closely with all neighboring countries, developing tourism market segments, encouraging the arrival of tourists at all times of the year, and finally, directing marketing resources to market segments that tend to spend more. All these measures indicate the important role of tourism marketing in determining the policies of countries. For this reason, studying and investigating this issue is important and necessary, and one of the motivations of the current research is to increase awareness and attention to this important category in our country. For this purpose, the research problem will be stated first, and then the importance of the research topic will be explained. In the following, the assumptions and objectives of the research are stated, and the variables and components of the research are defined as theoretical and operational concepts. 1-2-Statement of the problem Today, tourism in various countries is considered a key force for the advancement and economic growth of the country (Kim et al., 2006; Lee and Brahmasrin, 2013)[1] and by providing strategic opportunities, in addition to local prosperity, it causes employment and creation income and poverty reduction (Lacher and Oh [2], 2012). Due to the importance of tourism and the role they have assigned to it in the direction of economic, social and cultural development, managers and regional and national officials everywhere in the world are planning and trying to expand this industry (Zhou [3], 2013). Considering the significant position of the tourism industry, this industry should have a strong marketing system compatible with the market environment. The stronger and more appropriate their marketing management system is, the more successful they will be. Tourism marketing is an interactive process between suppliers and consumers (tourists) during which tourism goods and services are exchanged in an environment that is specific to this industry (Qadiri Masoum et al., 2012, quoted by Heydari, 2019). In other words, tourism marketing is a new category that refers to identifying and predicting the needs of tourists and providing facilities to meet their needs and informing them and motivating them to visit (Brown [4], 2009). Meanwhile, one of the aspects that can be the source of many developments for the sustainable development of the tourism industry is the accurate identification of the current situation through tourism marketing. Intangibility, instability, heterogeneity, inseparability and non-ownership, which are important features of this service industry, necessitate the use of a mixed marketing model.. Intangibility, instability, heterogeneity, inseparability and non-ownership, which are important features of this service industry, reveal the necessity of using a mixed marketing model for tourism (Haidari, 2017). The 7P model[5] of mixed marketing is one of the topics of interest in tourism marketing, which can be used in the tourism industry to identify the current situation and reach the desired situation (Qadiri Masoum et al., 2013).

In recent years, many and varied studies have been conducted in relation to marketing, but no coherent researches have been conducted regarding tourism marketing. For this reason, in order to achieve a greater share of the world market in this industry, one should look for appropriate logical and scientific solutions that can only be achieved through research and identification of effective factors in the field of tourism. Understanding the complexity and multiplicity of different factors in the field of tourism marketing and trying to understand the various aspects of these factors is one of the goals of this research. Factors such as social, economic, cultural and political components are among the most important factors that can affect the tourism industry. Providing a suitable and efficient model to promote tourism in a region can help in micro and macro planning in this area. Therefore, considering that the city of Shiraz is one of the main points of the country in the field of tourism and has many natural and historical tourist attractions and has favorable capacities to attract domestic and foreign tourists, this city was selected in the present study and we sought to answer the question: What are the factors influencing the tourism marketing of the city of Shiraz? It should be noted that this industry, as one of the leading industries in the world and as a strong driving force in social, cultural and economic fields, has the ability to shape and transform many organizations (La and Xiang [6], 2013); Therefore, the need for research on tourism marketing is raised more than before. Since marketing is a universal phenomenon and has special importance for developing societies, a fundamental approach for the development of this industry should be adopted. In this regard, identifying and explaining the factors affecting tourism marketing can greatly help the development of this approach.

Researchers acknowledge the importance of identifying marketing factors in the tourism industry, including goods/services, price/cost, place/place, promotion/advancement, communication and participation, travel packages (facilities), planning and process, employees and consumers/visitors, for the development of this industry and its optimal use in order to improve the economic status of countries (Kook and Bose[7], 2014). It should be noted that some of these tourism marketing factors are related to the competitive market and consumer demand, and others are based on creating a favorable environment for customers and tourism service employees. Hence, the need to investigate this issue in order to identify and categorize them seems necessary.

In addition, regarding the practical benefits of research regarding the tourism industry, research has shown that studying the motivations of foreign tourists and investigating the factors influencing their attraction provides a vision for the officials and managers of this industry so that they can plan their products/services better and more purposefully and develop them in order to earn more from this industry (Chen et al.[8], 2013).

It is true that several researches have been conducted on the subject, that is, tourism marketing, but an issue that has rarely been investigated in researches in this field, especially internally, is to provide a model to identify and explain the factors affecting this industry. Especially, in this research, it will be tried to study these factors from different perspectives and angles so that the final framework presented can be generalized to different cities of the country and not specific to the specific conditions and climate of Shiraz. In addition, the novelty of this issue (that is, providing a model to identify factors affecting tourism marketing) within the country is clear. It is said that this topic has been widely discussed abroad due to the special contribution of marketing in the domestic income basket, but inside the country, due to the many problems in the development of this industry, no one has done research on it; Especially in the case of the city of Shiraz, which has the potential to attract a large number of domestic and foreign tourists, conducting research with these themes has always been innovative and is considered by researchers and relevant officials.