Intended Target Market and Target Market Segmentation - Coursework Example

Travel Agency Australia is a beautiful place that offers a great deal to a variety of tourists. Tourists are able to find gorgeous vistas to watch a sunset, beautiful beaches to practice their surfing techniques, rainforests to hike, and cultural events in the cities. Tourism is a booming business in Australia as travel agencies vie for customers across Australia looking to explore their homeland and the world wanting an adventure of their lifetime. “More growth is on the horizon. The Tourism Forecasting Committee expects total visitor consumption to reach $102 billion in 2012–13, with international arrivals to reach over six million” (Tourism Research Australia, 2012, p. 4). This increase in visitor consumption and tourist arrivals can be a double-edged sword for travel agencies. There is the fact that this is an expanding business meaning that there are many competitors available for customers to turn towards if they decide that a particular business is meeting their needs. This huge pool of competitors make it important for travel agencies to be able to demonstrate something different that will attract customers to their business over thousands of other agencies out there which is where a marketing plan comes into play. Environmental Details A detail of the environment that impacts the travel industry is that tourists from all over want to “experience at first hand Australia’s unique natural and cultural environment” (Jafari, 2002, p. 41). There is no other place on earth quite like Australia with the wide variety of natural resources, cultural draws and friendly people. This may seem like a given as a detail of the environment that can impact a travel agency, but it can play an extremely powerful role in the marketing strategy of a travel agency. Travel agents are selling the dream of a perfect vacation in the perfect setting with the perfect adventure for the individual that is looking to book with them. Understanding the different draws that Australia will have for domestic and international travelers will help to increase the market value of a travel agency because it will become known for booking tailored trips. One of the biggest environmental impacts on the travel industry is money and exchange rates. Travel, even for business purposes, is something that can be seen by many as just a luxury that can be put off for later years when more money is coming in, so a time of economic crisis globally can have an impact on the amount of travelers coming into a country. Australia is seeing record numbers of visitors coming to spend their hard earned dollars, and this is from a few factors. One is that the exchange rate with the British sterling pound and the euro against the Australian dollar is attractive as visitors bringing their home currency to Australia will have more buying power with the current exchange rates along with the second fact that there are cheap flights available that can make the long flight more attractive to budget focused travelers (Businesscasestudies.co.uk, 2001). Visitors being able to stretch their money to where they are able to get such a strong exchange rate will help to be a positive impact on the travel industry in Australia. The Internet is a large environmental impact on the travel industry as it has changed the way that tourists book their vacations. Most travel agencies lose business from Internet booking websites that cut out the need for a middleman to plan a trip, and many fear trying to compete through an Internet source as many times the commissions are almost nonexistent (Cheung & Lam, 2009, p. 86). The Internet can also be a positive environmental impact on the travel industry as travel agents are able to harness the power of the Internet in getting their services out there for the general public to find them, even halfway across the globe. Smart consumers are aware that they are able to get cheap booking prices by using Internet booking websites to direct book their travels, but also understand that using travel agents have their own perks, which can explain why from 2003 to 2005 the amount of individuals that book through travel agents remained about the same (Bergin-Seers, O’Mahony & Quiazon, 2007, p. 3). Travel agents can help to boost consumer awareness of the benefits of using a knowledgeable travel agent by creating their own website for marketing purposes. A final detail of the environment that impacts the travel industry is the amount of rival agencies that exist within Australia and other countries that book vacations in Australia. As of 2008, there were about 4,884 travel agents located in Australia with 3,182 offices and 1,662 branches (Australian Federation of Travel Agents, 2010, p. 11). As time has passed, some travel agents may have moved on to other avenues of employment, but there are always new arrivals to any business to replace those that left a void. This environmental impact is extremely important to keep in mind in building a marketing plan as the strategy that is outlined in the plan will need to be extensive to be able to gain a larger market share than other agencies. Intended Target Market Due to the above elements that can potentially be negatives, it is important to understand that having a small target market may decrease the value of the travel agency as it may be excluding segments of the tourism market that it could effectively reach. According to Tourism Australia (n.d.),“The ideal target market are people who have a greater propensity to enjoy what Australia offers and also meet the objectives of the country” (p. 6). Visitors to Australia must be able to meet the objectives of being able to withstand a long plane ride, have the capital to afford the vacation, and the desire for adventure. The definition of adventure will depend on the different market segmentations that are included in the marketing mix. Target Market Segmentation Segmentation can be a useful tactic for the travel agency by helping to match the different products that are offered by the travel agency to the different portions of the target market that the product fits (Schneider, Vogt & Smith, n.d., p. 4). Australia offers so many opportunities for adventure that each client will have a different ideal of what their dream vacation is comprised of, and understanding the segmentation of the market can help with providing desired vacations. Younger, single travelers may be more interested in high adventure packages that can include thrilling experiences like sky-diving, white-water rafting, surfing and hiking or backpacking through the outback. Family groups may prefer more sedate adventures that are not too dangerous for the younger children in the group, such as attractions like theme parks, beach excursions, camping, and learning about the aboriginal culture. Older visitors may be looking for a mixture of high adventure and luxury with visiting native wildlife parks and gardens, wineries, shopping, and spa visits. The key to effective travel planning is being able to personalize the experience to better fit the consumer without becoming too pigeonholed in what particular market segments may require. Some families may be more interested in experiencing the same high adventure thrill seeking activities as younger travelers while young female travelers may be interested in shopping, spa visits, and beach excursions. This personalization is the key to what increases the value of a travel agent over the impersonal booking of vacations through vacation deal websites (Kelso, 2012). Once, products are matched with potential market segments it is important to continue watching the trends in what remains popular (Tourism Victoria, 2010). The personalization of products will only be valuable to the travel agency for as long as visitors are interested in the choices that they are given in their travel options. For some visitors, a trip to Australia may be their dream vacation that they have put away money for years to be able to gain the vacation of a lifetime. The travel agency is the guide that will help them to achieve their dream vacation, and in order to provide the experience that they are paying the agency to receive, it is vital for the agents to stay current on what will wow their visitors. Conclusion In conclusion, Australia is an amazing destination for travelers and a great opportunity for travel agents. There are several environment elements that can have an impact on travel agents in Australia. This includes the variety of products available in the country, the exchange rate, Internet booking websites and rival agents. Each of these aspects needs to be evaluated when creating a marketing plan. The target market for an Australian travel agency is to find the travelers that are seeking to experience Australia in person. This market can be segmented by the types of activities that the different segments are interested in participating in during their stay with greater personalization for being able to provide a variety. Providing the right products by personalization will give the travel agency the edge that it needs to beat some of the negative elements that exist within the travel industry. References Australian Federation of Travel Agents (2010) Review of consumer protection measures in the travel and travel related services market in Australia including the role of the Travel Compensation Fund. [online] Available at: http://www.consumerlaw.gov.au/content/mcca_consultation/downloads/pwc_consultation/Australian_Federation_of_Travel_Agents.pdf [Accessed: 17 Mar 2013]. Bergin-Seers, Sue, O’Mahony, Barry and Quiazon, Regina (2007) The travel agency service industry: industry trends and practices. Other. Sustainable Tourism CRC (STCRC). Businesscasestudies.co.uk (2001) Introduction. [online] Available at: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/australia/targeting-a-market-segment/introduction.html#axzz2NoNKpbCC [Accessed: 17 Mar 2013]. Cheung, R. and Lam, P. (2009) How Travel Agency Survive in e-Business World?. Communications of the IBIMA , 10 p.86. Available at: http://www.ibimapublishing.com/journals/CIBIMA/volume10/v10n11.pdf [Accessed: 17 Mar 2013]. Jafari, J. (2000). 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