Tourist product: creation, development, features, consumers. The tourism product is

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Any theme park, hotel or other tourism enterprise is invariably faced with the choice of what to produce and how much. The inevitability of this problem is obvious. After all, tourism organizations have a small amount of production resources. The final decision will depend on the purpose of the firm, as well as on the limitations and obstacles that will be in its way.

What is a tourism product?

The success of any company in the market depends, first of all, on the attractiveness for consumers of the product or service it produces. Depending on this, the marketing policy of the organization is built regarding price, promotion in the market and distribution.

As for travel companies, they offer their customers a tourist product. What is included in this concept? If we consider the product as an economic category, then its content is very voluminous. By definition, this is everything that is offered onmarket and is able to meet the needs or desires of customers. Thus, ideas and services, physical objects, etc. can act as a product. That is, everything that is attractive for purchase.

Tourism product can be viewed in two dimensions. On the one hand, this is a comprehensive service. In this sense, consumers of the tourist product acquire a set of services that are sold in one package. However, this perception is unique to buyers. According to suppliers, a tourist product is something concrete. So, for carriers, this concept includes transport services, for hotels - accommodation work, and for theme parks - entertainment events. In this case, the tourist product is a constituent element of the package sold to consumers. As you can see, from the point of view of suppliers, this concept has narrower boundaries.

Features inherent in the tourism product

For all the ambiguity of the concept under consideration, many economists attribute it to the non-productive sphere. The tourist product in tourism in eighty percent of cases is a service that has:

- intangibility;

- inseparability of links between production and consumption;

- volatility;- inability to store.

A tourist product (tourist service) is something that never takes on a materialized form. It cannot be tasted, seen or demonstrated until received. Besides,the purchase of such a product does not result in the purchaser owning anything. And this fundamentally distinguishes it from a physical purchase.

Among the features of tourism products can be identified and their varying degrees of tangibility. For example, the products offered by agencies are a tourist complex lunch at fast food establishments. It is a real object. Lunches in classical restaurants have a lesser degree of material expression. In these establishments, the buyer comes not so much for food, but for the atmosphere itself. It is even more difficult to capture the services offered by transport companies and hotels. Here the buyer does not purchase a plane or a hotel, but transportation and accommodation.

Travel package

This concept includes a mandatory set of services offered to individual travelers or a group of persons. Sometimes a tourist package is associated with a tourist product. It requires four elements.

The first one is the tourist center. This is a traveler's resting place with natural and cultural-historical, ethnic and ecological, infrastructural and socio-demographic opportunities. It is worth saying that the development of a tourist product is impossible without the inclusion of this element in it. After all, if there is no object of interest, then the organization of the trip becomes impossible. For example, when contacting a travel agency, one person will express a desire to go to France, another to the Pushkin Mountains, and a third to the Crimea. However, regardless of the size of the territory, each of them choosesend object. For one it is a country, for another it is a specific place, and for a third it is a region. At the same time, tour operators reduce the desires of visitors to a tourist center or a single option. After all, they will be required to deliver the traveler to a specific place of rest, where they will order transport. There will also be a hotel.

The second element of the travel package is transport. It is a traveler's vehicle. With his help, they get to the tourist center. The most popular mode of transport is, of course, the plane. If the distances are not too large, then you can travel by bus, car or train. It is worth saying that most of the costs in the tourist package are the cost of transportation. At the same time, the faster and more comfortable mode of transport will be involved, the higher the cost of the trip itself will be.

The third element of the tourist package is accommodation services. This is a specific hotel to stay and stay. Moreover, it is located in the tourist center. The creation of a tourist product involves the placement of the consumer in hotels and motels, villas and apartments, campsites, boats, etc. The differences in places of rest and accommodation are in accordance with the type of contract concluded. As for catering services, they are not a separate element of the tourist package, as they are included in the accommodation. The following combinations are accepted in tourism:

- BB - accommodation with breakfast;

- HB - accommodation with breakfast and dinner (half board); - RR - accommodation with breakfast, lunch and dinner (fullboarding house).

As a rule, tourists are given the opportunity to choose and order any of the combinations described above.

The fourth element included in the tourist package is the transfer. It represents the delivery of vacationers from the airport, railway station or harbor located in the country of the end point of the route to the hotel selected for accommodation. Includes transfer and return trip. For delivery, buses or other types of road transport are used. In other words, a transfer means the transportation of vacationers within the boundaries of their chosen tourist center.

When purchasing a package that includes four mandatory elements, the traveler receives significant discounts. This is due to the seriality of the product offered to him. However, the presence of only one basic element is not a prerequisite. The vacationer may ask to include other services in the package.

Components of the tourism product

What makes up the structure of services offered to travelers? There are three elements to a tourism product. This is a tour itself, as well as additional excursion services and goods. This is the difference between a tourist product and a package. The last one is included in the tour. In addition, it is a mandatory part of it.

Tour is the primary unit of the tourist product, which is sold as a whole in the form of a specific route and specific dates. This element does not take up all the time allotted fortravels. Tourists are given the opportunity to choose their own program of stay. It can be shopping and visiting clubs, a cultural program and walks around the city, located in a recreation area. At the same time, the tour operator can offer various excursions and their own guides.

Special material part of the tourist product are goods. These are postcards and city maps, souvenirs and booklets, special equipment, etc. The material part includes scarce goods or those that will be more expensive in the place of permanent residence of travelers.

Creating a tourism product

The services that companies offer to travelers, as mentioned above, are intangible. In addition, their production is carried out directly at the place of consumption. That is why the formation of a tourist product must be of high quality. Otherwise, fierce competition in the market will not leave the company any chance for successful work in the future.

As a rule, the implementation of a tourist product is not spontaneous. Buyers come to the agency on someone's recommendation. Moreover, according to studies, negative information will spread much faster than positive. That is why the creation of a tourist product should not bypass the issue of quality of service. It will be the key to commercial success. Excursion bureaus and hotels, restaurants and travel agencies may have the same material base, but at the same time radically differ from each other precisely in the level of service. For some firms, this is the maina trump card in the competition. In world practice, there are certain rules according to which an effective service is created. Their observance allows you to create and guarantee the further promotion of the tourist product. Let's take a closer look at these rules.

Conditions for creating quality services

Promotion of a tourism product will be impossible if the following principles are not taken into account in its formation:

- the maximum possible correspondence of the services offered to the nature of consumption and the requirements of consumers;

- the inseparability of the links of the service with marketing, its key tasks and principles;- the flexibility of the services offered to the client due to the change of his preferences.

Besides, the realization of a tourist product will become possible only if the personnel is taken care of during its creation. This includes the creation of ergonomic workplaces, a clear formulation of rules that are binding on all employees, etc. It is also necessary to monitor such elements as courtesy and goodwill, the ability to do one's job effectively, as well as the mood for further self-improvement.

The third principle that must be observed when creating a tourist product is the optimization of the activities of the company's management bodies. So, with a long chain of passing the received order, there is a high probability of making mistakes. The optimal structure is considered to be such a structure for organizing the activities of a company when the number of elements included in itextremely few. Only in this case it will be possible to create a tourist product without compromising its quality.

There is another principle that is necessary to ensure the normal operation of an enterprise that provides services to travelers. It consists in a comprehensive, complete and objective control over the quality of the service provided. And for this you need:

- create special control services;

- create methods and criteria that will allow you to correlate the requirements of existing standards with the actual state of affairs;

- involve guests in assessing the quality of services provided;

- create self-control systems for staff;

- constantly work with quality teams.

The need for comfort

Throughout its history, the market of tourism products asserts the invariability of the role of enterprises providing services to travelers. Today, as in all previous times, the guest must be met, and then drink, feed and put to bed. Only unlike the famous fairy-tale hero, today's travelers appreciate the high level of comfort and a fairly large number of services.

A modern tourism product must meet the different needs of guests. For example, for our compatriots, a hotel with a good mini-bar and a developed service system is comfortable. At the same time, the snacks and drinks offered in it should be for every taste and preferably inexpensive. But American tourists consider comfortable that hotel, in the rooms of which there is a place.for making cocktails, and where ice can be brought at any time. Also, guests from this country will certainly appreciate the high level of security. For Europeans, a well-developed network of catering establishments is important. They also pay attention to the equipment of bathrooms. When traveling in Japan, it is important to get the necessary information in a timely manner. They will also appreciate the presence of restaurants with oriental cuisine.

How can a company operating in the market create a comfortable tourist product? The product, that is, the services offered to travelers, should be sufficient, and their versatility is important. The complex of constituent components must certainly include such areas of comfort as:

- information;

- economic;

- aesthetic;

- household;- psychological.

Information comfort

A quality tourism product can be offered to travelers only if the hotel, catering establishments, and all objects included in the hotel industry are fully described. This information is provided to guests before arrival at the end point of the route. It is important for the tour operator to show a photo that reflects the types of design of rooms and premises, as well as to acquaint travelers with the prices and the range of services offered by the hotel. A tourist can also study such information on a specially created website of the company. With the help of modern technology, guests can virtually walk around the hotel, look into the kitchen of the restaurant, get acquainted with the interior of the rooms, fitness center equipment, etc.

Important components of information comfort are also:

- special systems of pictograms that can help guests navigate within the walls of the hotel;- awareness of the working staff, able to answer all the questions of tourists not only about the hotel, but also about the country in which they arrived.

Economic comfort

This concept includes a convenient calculation system for tourists. It includes bonuses and deposits, club cards and other motivation measures aimed at the emergence of the traveler's desire to use the services of tour desks, catering establishments, etc., located in this hotel. Such a move is the goal of the entire established quality system. Particular attention is paid to club cards, which allow attracting and retaining a client. At the same time, the withdrawal of cash from circulation is a big plus in any business. After all, this greatly reduces the likelihood of the risk of raids, fraud and theft. The client receives a real discount, saving his money.

Aesthetic comfort

Why do guests choose this or that hotel? They are attracted by the aesthetic design of the interior, which creates an atmosphere of home warmth and comfort. This is:

- a single style of the premises, corresponding to the general direction of the enterprise;

- a color scheme that does not irritate the guest;- the use of finishing materials that correspond to the level of hygiene and safety.

Home comfort

This concept implies the creation of appropriate conditions necessary for a normal guest stay. Domesticcomfort implies the optimal temperature and humidity of the air in the premises, as well as the convenience of furniture. To create such conditions, enterprises use the necessary equipment. These are air conditioners and air purifiers. The purchase and installation of comfortable furniture is also important.

Psychological comfort

This is a very complex concept. It covers all the comfort components discussed above. If at least one of the elements listed above is missing, then the mood of the tourist will certainly be spoiled.

But at the same time, psychological comfort is also created by the staff. It directly depends on the respect and hospitality of employees. Neglect of travelers leads to a sharp decline in the quality of the tourist product.

Drawing up and signing the contract

The fact of reaching an agreement between the parties, which are the seller and the buyer, must always be legally fixed. To implement this procedure, an agreement on the sale of a tourist product is signed. This document should be characterized by certainty and clarity of content. All this will predetermine the specific rights and obligations of both parties.

The main subject, which considers the contract of a tourist product, is the provision of a set of services agreed in advance. At the same time, their price and the terms during which the tourist product will be sold should be indicated in the document.

The signed contract must specify:

- placedestination;

-means of transport used to deliver tourists to the place of rest and back;

-points and dates of departure, as well as return from the trip;

- degree of comfort of the hotel and the type of service provided food;

- route;- availability of special requirements presented by the consumer.

All other conditions contained in the contract must comply with the requirements of applicable laws.