Tourist product - what is it? Features and types

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

Recreation, new experiences, gifts, souvenirs and other pleasures - these are the first associations of most people with the word "tourism". Its role in the life of modern society is quite significant due to the natural desire of a person to discover and explore unexplored lands, monuments of nature, culture, history and architecture, the desire to get acquainted with the traditions and customs of different peoples.

However, tourism is a large, highly profitable and extremely dynamic sector of the economy. For this reason, it makes sense to study and analyze the state of the tourism market, its dynamics, opportunities and prospects.

Basic concepts of tourism: tourism product

Tourism as an economic system is characterized by a whole list of specific categories and terms. Studying the market of tourist services and the mechanism of its functioning, it is necessary to master the basic concepts. One of them is a tourist product. This is a complex of services that allows you to meet all the needs of the tourist during the trip. Its attractiveness directly affects the level of profitability and the duration of the existence of each enterprise.in the tourism business.

In an effort to create a relevant and effective tourism product, companies explore the actual and constant demand in the tourism market (fashion, affection, preferences). These data form the basis of ideas for the formation of a new proposal, which will be further implemented. In conditions of high competition, which can be compared with a kind of battle for a client, interest, uniqueness and quality of a tourist product become key success factors.

What you need to know when creating a tourism product

When deciding on the formation of a new offer in the field of tourism, they stake on the satisfaction of the desires of customers. That is, they clearly define which product will be really interesting to the tourist so much that he will pay for it.

In fact, the content of tourism services is not only the trip itself, but also the hotel accommodation, new sensations and acquaintance with the unknown. Consumers of the tourist product highly appreciate the attention and courtesy of all employees of the operator, as well as the comfort and inviting atmosphere throughout the trip.

Principles of tourism product formation

The definition of a tourism product lies in the fact that this is the name of the system of services that citizens (tourists) receive from tourist and excursion enterprises. The main part of the marketing strategy of this product is its attractiveness and originality. These indicators determine the rest of the components: the price, the nature of the promotion anddistribution.

The main difficulty faced by many manufacturers of a tourism product is that its perception by creators and consumers is fundamentally different. These discrepancies also affect the conduct of economic research in this area.

The result of an ill-conceived strategy is the entry into the market of a product that does not match the needs of the consumer. When buying a tour, customers are aimed at receiving completely different services. Some of them purchase vouchers to resorts in order to relax, maintain he alth, tan and relax. Other people are forced to travel to other cities and countries on working visits (business trips). They do not plan to rest, as they have business negotiations and contracts ahead of them.

After studying the perception of its product by potential customers, the manufacturer restructures its activities taking into account new information. Then the sale of a tourist product (a set of services) is accompanied by advertising not so much of the services themselves as of their advantages, unique properties and consumer qualities.

From a legal point of view, a client, having paid a sum of money to a travel agency, acquires the right to receive a tourist product during the journey. This is the principle of separate formation and consumption of this product.

What stages does a new tourism product go through when creating

After studying the market, competitors and niche, as well as the requests and wishes of potential consumers, the tourism organization proceeds tocreating a new tour. At the same time, the development of a tourist product is carried out as follows:

1. An idea is generated regarding the future product (its quantitative and qualitative properties). The observation of the state of real and constant demand does not stop, as the world of tourism is closely connected with the changing notions of fashion, affections and preferences.
2. A new product concept is being developed. Here, the complex of services receives specific consumer properties that correspond to the demand of the target market and are determined by the material, technical and financial capabilities of the company (route, program, type of tourism, set and class of services).
3. Stage trial marketing. The manufacturer puts his development on the market (experimental implementation of the tourist product). He studies the reaction of consumers, their attitude to this service, studies their comments and recommendations. These activities are carried out in order to identify and eliminate possible deficiencies. It has become common practice to conduct study tours, where partner travel agents become experimenters.
4. The stage of commercialization of the improved and adjusted tourism product: development of a marketing strategy, advertising, promotion of the tourism product and mass sale.

What is the basic and additional services

The structure of the tourism product provides for three types of offers:

• The tour itself.
• Complex of tourist and excursion services.
• Special goods (maps, gear, equipment,souvenirs, booklets, postcards).

The main tourism product is a trip, a tour, a trip. It is carried out in accordance with the established route and specific dates, includes a guaranteed range of tourist services (booking rooms and tickets, travel, hotel accommodation, as well as catering, recreation and leisure).

Services provided to consumers can be basic (those included in the contract and paid for by the client) or additional (paid at the place of consumption or on the way).

The main tourist product (obligatory set of services) has another name - a tourist package. Its structure consists of four elements:

• Visitor Center.
• Transport.
• Accommodation services.
• Transfer (a service that provides transportation of a tourist from the point of arrival to the place of residence and vice versa).

Tourists are often extremely interested in the additional services offered by the tour operator, as this greatly simplifies their stay and life in another country. In this regard, they are very willing to use the services of organizing excursions, the services of guides, translators, transfers and other transportation within the country or city, rental and repair of equipment, currency exchange, telephone, mail and other elements of consumer services.

Based on the fact that the development of a tourist product is always based on the desires and preferences of customers, most tour operators are constantly expanding the list of providedadditional services.

Specifics of the main and additional complexes

The above division of the tourist product into the main and additional categories should be taken as conditional. After all, these elements have a common nature and consumer properties. Often the main complex includes transport services, accommodation and catering. True, if we are talking about an educational, professional, business, sports trip or a trip with a religious purpose, the situation changes. Those services that are usually classified as additional become essential.

Therefore, the criterion for dividing into categories is the order in which they are fixed in the contract and payment.

How is the experimental verification of the new round

After the formation of the tourism product is completed, it must be checked, tested and, if necessary, corrected. To this end, it is experimentally introduced to the market and monitored for profitability and ability to compete. Creating a tourism product of decent quality cannot do without this stage.

Experimental evaluation of the tourist product requires the following conditions:

• The "natural size" of the tour being checked, that is, all the nuances and aspects of the trip are subject to verification. This becomes possible when organizing an experimental ride.
• Availability of introductory information (presentations, advertisements).
• Identification of a certain period during which the popularity of the tested product will be assessed (studiedreviews and application statistics).

Types of experimental tours

When planning the promotion of a tourist product, a manufacturer can resort to one of two options for the experimental implementation of its development:

1. Promotion trip.
2. Stud tour.

Assigning a promotional tour to inform the target audience that there is a new product. In addition, it clearly demonstrates its consumer properties, advantages and competitive advantages. Often, journalists, media representatives, authority figures, target consumer groups or travel agents become participants in promotional tours, who will subsequently sell this tourist product. This is justified by future income, since the seller can best tell what he saw and experienced.

Promotional tour program usually includes a certain number of excursions and a procedure for visiting several hotels (up to five per day). They also allocate time for independent acquaintance with the peculiarities of the country.

Organization of study-tours (info-tours) aims to form an idea of what constitutes a new tourist product among marketers of a tour operator and agents of other firms. During these tours, experts may attend exhibitions, conferences, seminars, or other events highlighting issues of interest to the firm. When organizing info-tours, the manufacturer of the tourist product is interested in popularizing the route and increasing sales in this area. The successful implementation of a tourism product largely depends onhow smoothly the demo ride goes.

Procedure and technology for evaluating tourism products

Given the specifics of tourism services and the intangible nature of some of them (lack of quality parameters), the evaluation of new tours becomes subjective. In the practice of most travel companies, a point-based expert assessment is used. It provides for the assessment of the main parameters of the product on a scale with a maximum of one hundred points.

What assessors consider in the evaluation process:

• Was the purpose of the trip achieved, what was the quality of the excursions, how friendly and welcoming were the representatives of the local population.
• The level of service culture in the place of residence.
• How good was the food and restaurant service.
• The nature of the psychological atmosphere and how the group members communicated with workers and servants.
• How convenient and fast the transport service was.

In addition to the listed experts, they offer to evaluate other quality parameters of the trip.

How the results of experimental testing are used

The data obtained must be consolidated and carefully analyzed. The result of the audit is the correction of deficiencies and the elimination of shortcomings. The final result, that is, the launch of the product on the market or its "retirement", depends entirely on the decision of the travel agency.

However, the travel service provider should not forget that the quality level of the product is only one ofconditions for its implementation on the market. This means that if, according to the results of the test run, tourism products (services) were classified as middle class, it makes no sense to exceed this indicator. The marketing strategy in this case should use tools to influence consumers belonging to this particular class.

Feature of sightseeing tours

Different parameters are used to classify tourist trips:

• Purpose of travel.
• Vehicles.
• Features of placement.
• Tour duration.
• The composition of the group and many others.

Therefore, a variety of types of tourism products are available to consumers: medical, recreational, business, bus, aviation, with accommodation in a hotel, boarding house or campsite, individual, group and others.

However, according to statistics, the most popular is the excursion and educational tourism product. This is a trip to get acquainted with tourist attractions (historical and architectural monuments, natural and ethnic features, modern life of the people of the country where the tourist plans to go).

This category includes tours on a specialized or thematic program. As a rule, during such trips, tourists are offered to visit special objects, depending on the professional or amateur interests of the group. These can be industrial and agricultural enterprises, social and cultural and educational institutions.

For the tour operator sightseeing and education altravel is quite profitable from an economic point of view. The features of this type of tourism product are a wide range of basic and additional services, as well as a longer duration (compared to other types).

The value of the route for the successful implementation of the tourism product

The route as the main component of the trip is able to give the tour the necessary attractiveness, as well as satisfy all the wishes and interests of tourists. When choosing points of new routes when creating a tourist product, you should compare them with the travel goals of future customers.

If we are talking about organizing sightseeing and educational trips, then the choice of cities should take into account the presence of interesting tourist attractions (historical, cultural monuments, museums, art galleries and other objects) in them.

The degree of customer satisfaction of the travel agency largely depends on how fast, picturesque and comfortable travel between cities will be. Here, the choice of means of transporting tourists is of paramount importance. The organizer must take into account several circumstances:

• When laying routes, do not allow them to be duplicated. That is, tourists should always see only new landscapes, even on the way back.
• It is in the interests of the tour operator to cooperate with those carriers that can offer faster and more comfortable transport for transporting tourists between cities.



• The development of the tourism product willliterate if travelers can make optimal and full use of daylight hours. This means that excursions and free activities of tourists should be planned for the daytime. At the same time, all necessary trips should be left at night (transportation by train), as well as in the morning or evening (airplane, bus).

Thus, we can conclude that building a successful and efficient tourism business is based on the foresight, prudence and attentiveness of the head of the company. Of great importance is its ability to discover, systematize and satisfy the desires and needs of customers. In addition, despite the careful planning and development of a tourism product, it must be tested by experts before it is released to the market.