Tourism, marketing and the pandemic

 We all know that tourism is a fundamental pillar of the economy of Spain and several other

countries. Not only does it have a great impact in terms of income, but it also generates many

jobs in the tertiary sector.

Before we start, let´s define what tourism marketing is, which actions are the most used and

why it is so important.

DEFINITIONS AND RELEVANT DATA

What exactly is tourism marketing then? It can be characterised as a marketing strategy that

uses a detailed marketing plan and marketing strategies to advertise tourism-related locations,

hotels, transportation, and other goods and services.

Travel is no longer offered as a straightforward tour or all-inclusive package these days. This

company uses tourism marketing to diversify its offer and cater to the needs of each customer

because consumers want to try new things and feel new experiences. The information must

also be updated for COVID-19 to reflect a new reality that is based on the security and

confidence of the traveller.

Characteristics of Tourism Marketing

Despite its orientation, tourism marketing has qualities that characterise it as a whole and

remain constant. Some of them are:

• Promotes direct interaction and communication between tourists and tour companies.

• It emphasises doing thorough study on a destination before travelling there. It makes

it possible to find out right away about a location's benefits, culture, and range of

activities.

• It investigates consumer demands and how they respond to various travel options.

• It examines promotions that can help the customer and the company by analysing

pricing margins.

• Selects the best channels for implementing marketing strategy, audience

segmentation, and brand recognition management.

It is important to approach customers through the following channels:

• Audiovisual content is the preferred method of connecting with audiences since it has

          a strong capacity to communicate ideas in a brief amount of time without losing sight

          of any specifics. With the help of this kind of information, products may be promoted

           in a more engaging and attractive style that appeals to the senses of the consumer.

• Social networks: As the form of media that travellers use the most, it is present in the

           social networks that are best suited to the company, making use of all the instruments

           at its disposal and establishing a line of communication with users.

• Advertising campaigns: One advantage of advertising campaigns is their adaptability

           to various channels, exposure, and ability to draw in new market segments.

• Virtual reality: If audio-visual content is a great way to attract visitors, virtual reality

           platforms are even better. Tourists can use this tool to learn about a destination

           before visiting it, all from the comfort of their own home and without having to follow

           too many instructions. During the pandemic, many companies are taking advantage of

           this technology.

• Opinions: Any opinion can mean the difference between choosing one destination

           over another, which is why it is critical to maintain a flawless brand image through

           actions that go beyond words.

• Influencers: travel influencers have gained weight in the sector because of their

          content. They are also able to generate community and share with their audience

           information and anecdotes about the destinations and information that is not found in

           travel guides.

In this post we are going to look at the data and the situation before and after the pandemic,

as well as give an assessment and a personal opinion of the commercialisation and reactivation

of tourism after the long period of paralysis.

(Number of tourists from 01/2018 to 08/2022)

PRE-PANDEMIC DATA 

As we can see, before the pandemic, the number of tourists was increasing, also due to seasonality, as summer is when most tourists arrive in Spain, while the winter season has the lowest peaks. The fact is that those who prefer to visit Spain mostly as a tourist destination are the French, Germans and British.

This is also reflected in terms of investment in advertising, which is on the rise, especially in digital media. In 2018 we had an investment of 194.6 million euros in the transport, travel and tourism sector. 

WHEN EVERYTHING STOPPED

And then the border closures came, which we all remember as catastrophic for the economy, with many losses, especially in transport and tourism.

During the lockdown and with the borders closed, the number of tourists dropped from more than 4 million in February to zero in April.

In 2020, the advertising investment for the sector was 16.4 billion dollars worldwide.

 

DATA AFTER THE PANDEMIC

After the end of the quarantine, tourism started to pick up again, although its recovery was very slow due to the different waves. 

There was a big increase in the number of tourists since nobody was able to travel for several months, reaching almost 2.5 million foreigners coming to Spain in July after the quarantine.

All this focusing on foreign tourists and without taking into account the movements within the national territory.

 

MARKETING

In terms of marketing, 2020’s summer was a very active season on social media with everyone sharing that they could move on and go on holiday. 

It is expected that we will return to data similar to what we had before the pandemic, or even surpass it. In order to achieve this objective, companies will have to invest heavily in order to reposition themselves.

 

CONCLUSION

In my opinion the situation was very good and was increasing every year as we have seen in the INE graphs. We also realise the importance of a sector like tourism for the gross domestic product of Spain. With the arrival of the pandemic there were many losses and many establishments had to cease their activity and even close permanently.

We are really facing an opportunity now, so using the right tools we will be able to reach higher figures than in 2019.

One of the most relevant and important campaigns is the Turespaña campaign "España Te Espera" ("Spain is waiting for you"). It seeks to raise tourist awareness, maintaining the main premise that Spain is still the place where millions of travellers can feel at home. With this small sample of homey situations and emblematic landscapes, the video of just 46 seconds transmits comfort and security, something that undoubtedly reinforces the hope of a great return, which is reflected in the hashtag #EspañaTeEspera.

REFERENCES

INE - Instituto Nacional de Estadística. (n.d.). No encontrado. INE - Instituto Nacional De                     Estadística. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from 

         https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Datos.htm?t=10822

Kulakova, G. (n.d.). What is hospitality and tourism marketing? Retrieved October 16, 2022, from 

        https://www.amara-marketing.com/travel-blog/what-is-hospitality-and-tourism-marketing

Gobierno de España. (n.d.). TourEspaña. Tourspain. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from                        https://www.tourspain.es/es-es