Tourism

Study Guide.

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 Module 1
(a) Differentiate between tourism products and services:

PRODUCT

Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that
might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, services, persons, places,
organizations and ideas.

TOURISM PRODUCT

These are products which satisfy tourists’ leisure, pleasure or business needs at places other
than their own normal place of residence.

SERVICE

A service is a product that consist of activities, benefits or satisfactions that are offered for
sale that are essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership of anything.

(i) Characteristics of tourism services, for example, intangibility; perishability;

inseparability; variability.

PRODUCTS SERVICES

INTANGIBILITY

A product is tangible, it is physical and A service is intangible, can only be felt and not
can be held, seen and movable touched

PERISHABILITY

 Products are perishable. For example, Services cannot be stored for later use or sale since
fresh farm and other food products are they can only be used during that particular time
perishable and these can also be stored when they are offered.
for later use or sale.   

INSEPARABILITY

A product can be separated from the Services cannot be separated from their providers
owner once the purchase has been since they can be consumed at the same time they

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 completed.   are offered.
VARIABILITY/HETEROGENITY
Products can be mass produced and be
homogenous
(b) The push-pull factors of tourism.
PUSH FACTORS
(Motivational)
External Push Factors (Social)
1. Information Sources
- Personal (social media contacts,
close friends, family and travel
agent).
- Impersonal (travel
advertisements, travel blogs,
internet searches and feedback
sources).
2. Culture and Subculture
3. Social Class (education, income
and occupation).
4. Demographic factors - age,
gender, marital status and race
5. Situational factors - economic,
time-based,
environmental and family based.
Internal Push Factors (Psychological)
Given the very nature of services, each service
offering is unique and cannot be exactly repeated
even by the same service providers.
PULL FACTORS
(Based on Destination Attributes)
Tangible Pull Factors
1. Destination attributes – culture,
heritage etc.
2. Food services - Restaurants (low
to high budget), food stores,
cooking facilities.
3. Accommodation – Hotel (Resorts
to low budget) accommodation,
traditional accommodation,
homestays).
4. Transport facilities – ease of
access to destination and internal
travel
5. Other general facilities including
communication (phone, internet,
wifi).
6. Family members resident in
destination countries.
Intangible Pull Factors
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 1. Personality (including risk 9. Mental image of destination
profile) (cognitive aspect)

2. Learning 10. Ambience of destination based on

previous visit. (affective aspect)
3. Attitude
11. Experience of destination from
4. Motivators (needs, wants and
previous visit (affective aspect)
goals)
12. Political/Social aspects - safety
5. Motivation
13. Environment – weather
6. Perception
conditions
7. Experience
14. Relative cost of tourism bundle
8. Mental image of destination
(affective aspect)

(c) Goals for better tourism development, for example, enhanced visitor experience;
improved economy and business success; sustainable resource use; community and area
integration.

 Enhanced visitor experience- A successful destination sells experience, one that is

pleasant, desired, fun filled and meaningful. An ideal destination can create feelings
of experiences that will influence the tourist to revisit the destination. Many
Caribbean tourism master plans will suggest increased events to enhance the visitor
experience, because they get to engage authentic aspects of the culture. The are
several persons who revisit Caribbean destinations.
 Improved economy and business success – There are several measures that can
improve the economic contributions of tourism. In most Caribbean country the
activities of the tourism industry are supervised by the government, specifically
relating to regulation, legislation, and destination marketing technical and legislative
support. Caribbean governments have seen the need of diversify the tourism industry,
moving away from a focus on mass tourism to niche or alternative tourism. So,
diversification is an important step in improved economic and business success in the
tourism industry.
a. Improved partnership and business process: this will make it easier to
conduct business, invest and operate a tourism offering.
b. Continuous training of employee, with an emphasis on quality service.
 Sustainable resources use – One cannot stress how important the environment is to the
tourism product. One would argue that the environment the beaches, the mountains,
the caves, the trees, the animals and the people-is the tourism product. If these are

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 damaged, then the product will no longer be in existence. All stakeholders- tourism
facility operators, the tourists, citizens and the government must appreciate the
importance of the environment to their earnings and livelihood.
 Community and area integration- The participation of the community is central, the
members are a very important part of the product, their friendliness, their hospitality,
they helpful nature are important intangible features of a tourism product. Members
should be consulted when decisions are made, they for e.g. Are important in the
government initiative to reduce tourist harassment.
(d) Tourism development:
Tourism Development is simply Sustainable Development in Tourism. If you are visiting a
place as a tourist, and you are getting transportation facility, Internet, good food,
accommodation, recreation, entertainment, nourishment, shopping and all the things a tourist
want; all this keeping in mind the social & economic factors of the area, environmental
impacts, cultural impacts, impacts on people of that area. Keeping everything balanced with
increase in number of tourists as a certain rate; the development according to this prospective
is called as Tourism Development.
(i) Role of Government, for example, policies; infrastructure (water, sewage disposal,
solid waste disposal, electricity, communication, access, information).
a. Formulate policies to aid the development of tourism and to encourage investment in
the sector by both foreign and local investor.
b. Infrastructure: build and maintain roads, water supply, sewages disposal, solid waste
disposal, solid waste disposal, electricity, communication and access to information.
c. Fund education for citizens to be adequately trained to efficiently perform roles in the
roles in the tourism industry.
d. Market destination in international markets Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, constantly
seeking opportunities to increase the country’s tourism earnings.
(ii) Role of the private sector, for example, services, amenities, entrepreneurship.
a. Conducts markets research to develop product to attract tourist with spending power.
b. Product development: diversifying the tourism product and increasing the
competitiveness of the tourism product.
c. Seek investment and funding to expand and improve their product offering.
d. Maintain the environment where they operate.
e. Provide amenities and facilities that the government has not provided.
(iii) role of non-governmental organisations, for example, lobbying.
a. Promote the sustainable use of resources by educating citizens about its importance.
b. Lobby the government to create or implement linkages between tourism and other
sectors so that they can be growth in other sectors.
c. Lobby the government to pass laws to improve the administration of tourism
supporting organization such as the product development company and the tourism
boards.

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 d. Providing advice, technical assistance to the government and tourism business
owners.
e. Provide feedback on market research.
(iv) Role of community.
a. Community members should protect its interest by getting involved in the decision-
making and planning processes of tourism development.
b. Lobby the government for training so they can enter the tourism industry as
entrepreneurs and workers.
c. Peer pressure community members and businesses to implement sustainable
development practices.
2. Customers’ Needs, Wants and Expectations
Customers’ needs: these are the basic forces that motivate a person’s physical well-being,
others the individual’s self-view and relationship with others.
Wants: these are needs that are learned during a person’s life. So, vacationing in the
Caribbean is a want, as children tourists may have observed adults leaving for holiday and
coming back exhilarated with exciting stories of music, food and people they met.
Expectation: this is what customers hope or anticipate from a product of service.
(a) The Customers’ needs and wants: The extent to which these are met will determine
customer satisfaction and service quality (SERVQUAL) that is offered by the facility.
(i) reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, tangibles, results; these are
dimensions are used to measure service quality and have been used in several industries;
Reliability: the facility’s ability to perform service accurately and on time right at the first
time
Responsiveness: facility’s willingness and flexible to serve and help customers.
Assurance: facility’s ability to build trust in customers about its services, staff’s knowledge
and skills.
Empathy: facility’s attentions and cares to everyone’s customer.
Tangibles: the appearance of the facility, appearance of staff, visual materials for customers,
physical facilities such as rooms, gardens, bathrooms etc.
Results: expectations of the customers.
(ii) determining customer needs;
Before a tourism entity starts promoting our business, they need to know what the customers
want and why, importantly they need to determine what the customers are willing to pay for.
Good customer research helps us work out how to convince our customers that they need the
products and services that the entity is offering. The goals of identifying customer needs are;

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 a. Ensure that the product is focused on the customers needs.
b. Identify latent of hidden needs as well as explicit ones.
c. Provide a fact base for justifying the product specification.
d. Ensure that no critical customer needs are missed or forgotten.
e. Develop a common understanding of customer needs among members of the
development team
(iii) meeting the customers' needs;
Tourism businesses know that the customers’ needs are met when;

 Customers are loyal to the brand. The business community believes it cheaper to keep
old customers than to attract new ones. Therefore, meeting the customers’ needs that
results in customers loyalty contributes to the business success.
 The business has a competitive edge. Customers are loyal, so the business can sustain
itself on their support and have a strong presence in the market. This essentially
means that the business has increased sales and may continue to do so.
 Attract new customers from good referrals.

(iv) strategies in fulfilling the needs and wants

a. Produce quality goods and services that are free from defects and faults. Customers,
especially in tourism settings demand high quality goods and services, especially
because vacation is considered as a luxury experience. Quality therefore should be a
“built-in” feature of tourism products and services.
b. Tourism products should be well priced. They should not be ridiculously expensive or
extremely low in cost. Ideally tourism facilities offer different services and packages
to suit multiple income brackets.
c. In order to fulfil customers’, need and wants, tourism providers should be on time
with their products, there should not bee a delay that creates a bad climate between
the organization and the customer. This will build trustworthiness between the
tourism providers and the customers.
(b) Importance of the customer:
(i) repeat visits and purchases; there is a principle in business that say s it is easier and
cheaper to retain an old customer than to try and get new ones. Therefore, when tourism
facilities can meet the needs, wants and expectations of customers they are also marketing,
having the potential to influence repeat visits.
(ii) increased revenues; with the value that the customer receives through good quality
service the organization may have the ability to earn more from that customer through
additional spending, by purchasing items they may not have planned for. The employees may
be able to earn high gratuity (tips) based on how satisfied the customers are.
(iii) referrals (good versus bad; referrals these days are instant, thanks to social media
platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and twitter. Potential customers depend

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on review of their friends and family via these networks. These are read and feedback is
instant and dependable for most part.
3. Standards
Standards are published documents that establish specifications and procedures designed to
ensure the reliability of the materials, products, methods, and/or services people use every
day. Standards address a range of issues, including but not limited to various protocols that
help ensure product functionality and compatibility, facilitate interoperability and support
consumer safety and public health.
(a) Importance of standards to tourism and product development.

 facilitating business interaction

 enabling companies to comply with relevant laws and regulations

 speeding up the introduction of innovative products to market 

 providing interoperability between new and existing products, services and processes.

 provide a common language to measure and evaluate performance,

 protect consumers by ensuring safety, durability, and market equity.

(b) Types of Standards (HAACP, ISO 14001, Hospitality Assured – CTO, Caribbean
Experiences).
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a preventative food safety
system in which every step in the manufacture, storage and distribution of a food product is
scientifically analyzed for microbiological, physical and chemical hazards.
IMPORTANCE OF HACCP STANDARDS
 Provide businesses with a cost-effective system for control of food safety, from
ingredients right through to production, storage and distribution to sale and service of
the final consumer
 Customers in the food chain required their suppliers to have certified HACCP systems
 Covers all types of potential food safety hazards whether they are naturally occurring
in the food, contributed by the environment, or generated by a mistake in the
manufacturing process
 Provides the structure to produce foods safely and to prove they were produced safely
 Controls major food risks, such as microbiological, chemical and physical
contaminants
 Prioritizes and controls potential hazards in food production
 Focuses on prevention and control of potential food safety hazards rather than
inspection
Principles of the HACCP Standards
 Establish Critical Limits

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  Establish monitoring procedures
 Establish corrective actions
 Establish record keeping procedures
 Establish verification procedures
 Conduct a Hazard analysis
 Identify critical control points
ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an
environmental management system. It helps organizations improve their environmental
performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste, gaining a
competitive advantage and the trust of stakeholders.
Benefits of ISO14001
 Demonstrate compliance with current and future statutory and regulatory
requirements.
 Improve company reputation and the confidence of stakeholders through strategic
communication.
 Increase leadership involvement and engagement of employees.
 Achieve strategic business aims by incorporating environmental issues into business
management.
 Provide a competitive and financial advantage through improved efficiencies and
reduced costs.
 Encourage better environmental performance of suppliers by integrating them into the
organization’s business systems.
The Hospitality Assured (CTO) actively encourage tourism and hospitality businesses in
the region to put in place a service quality framework that meets the requirements for the
European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model.
The Hospitality Assured process encourages businesses to look at their own operation from
the customer's perspective and to see where improvements should be made to benefit the
customer and strengthen the business.
Benefits of The Hospitality Assured (CTO)
 Enhance your marketability and generate great Public Relations
 Develop service ideals, values and principles that support a culture of excellence
 Increase market share and prove you are one of the best in the industry
 Improve staff morale and motivate employees
 Reduce staff turnover and identify you as a quality employer
 Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty thereby or thus building a reputation that
generates repeat and new business
 Improve quality standards on a continuous basis thereby or thus improving overall
business performance and competitiveness.
 Improve leadership and management skills
(c) Government policies, regulations and licences:

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(i) requirements for operations (for example, fire extinguishers, entrance and exit signs,
disclaimers, assembly points); these vary from country to country, however most country
have the following minimum requirements for operation;
 Pest control
 Training of employees in safety
 Provision of lifeguards in the case of water-based facilities.
 Food handlers’ permit
 Liability Insurance coverage and safety disclaimers
 Food allergy warnings
 Fire extinguishers
 Safety signs and warnings for example watch your steps
 Emergency assembly points.
(ii) health;
 Sanitary convenience.
 Running water
 Regular health and safety inspection by the government
 Food handlers’ permit.
 Staff nurse and well-maintained sick bay.
(iii) safety and security;
 safety equipment such as life jackets
 seatbelts for passengers.
 Well it premises.
 Security guards and police patrol
 Reporting incidents to police
(iv) amusement licences;
 Domestic tours
 Motor sports
 Attractions licenses
 Travel agencies
 Places of interests
 Bike and car rental licenses
(v) procedures for Emergency Management (natural disasters, terrorism, fire).
Disaster can happen at any given time. As such tourism businesses are expected to have
established plans in place to save lives and or minimize causalities in the event of a disaster.
Procedure for Emergency Management should include a written emergency plan that should
include but no limited to natural or man-made disasters. This written plan should be reviewed
periodically. The following are some typical emergency management measures;
 Staff should be properly informed of all emergency plans, procedures and routes.

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  Emergency routes should be posted in well lit, open areas for all- staff, guests and
visitors-to see.
 All Staff member should be made aware of the location of the first aid kit.
 A member trained and certified in first aid and emergency and lifesaving procedures
must be present at all time, it therefore means that more than one person must be
trained.
 Emergency numbers must be visible and up to date; arrangements should be made
with medical services and facilities.
 Procedures and records for emergency fire and earthquake drills.
(d) Concept of Benchmarking: International level (Green Globe, Blue Flag).
 This is the process by which a firm identifies the best practices of another firm then
implements them to improve its own products.
 It can be a good sources of quality improvement as the strategies used by another
firm has been tested and proven
Green Globe Certification: Global certification for sustainable tourism. Membership is
reserved for companies and organization that are committed to making positive contributions
to people and planet. Provides Certification of sustainable management and operations of
conference centres, hotels and resorts, attractions, transportation, travel industry and golf
courses (Green Globe, 2016).
Benefits of Green Globe Certification

 Save money while they are saving the planet from pollution and waste.
 Attract greater business from more people interested in making the best travel and
conference.
Blue Flag: operate under the auspices of the foundation for environmental Education and
headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. In order to qualify for this prestigious award, a
series of stringent environmental, educational, safety related, and access-related criteria must
be met and maintained (Blue Flag, 2016). Blue Flag certification is given to specific to
beaches and marine facilities.
Blue flag Programme Component
 Education: Blag flag programme aims to connect the public with their surroundings
and encouraged to learn more about their environment.
 Information: Visitors should be provided with information about the site that they are
visiting. This allows people to easily navigate the indigenous flora and fauna.
 Monitoring: Stringent criteria and regular spot checks help to ensure the compliance
of the flag sites, which are also subjected to comprehensive audits.
 Management: appropriate local organizations such as NEPA are selected to
implement and enforce the necessary criteria and thereby ensure consistency of the
standards.
 Safety: safety measures must always be in place, to ensure the staff, public and
environment remains safe.

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4. The ‘Ideal’ Tourism Professional
(a) The importance of human resources to the tourism product.
According to Chritra Rekha (2013) the tourism workforce is largely uneducated,
unmotivated, untrained and unproductive”. This is troubling considering that the industry is
highly dependent on the skills, talents, knowledge and abilities of people. Human resources
are important because tourism is a service industry that relies on the interaction between
service providers and customers. It is therefore important.
Companies can also gain a competitive advantage based on the expertise, education,
experience, productivity and professionalism of their workforce. Service quality is core to
the tourism product, as we learnt; tourism product and services are inseparable in the sense
that the service provider cannot be separated from the client; most services cannot be stored
and are performed in the presence of the customer. The human resource is therefore a
component of the product as workers determine to a large degree extent of the customers’
satisfaction.
(b) Benefits of professional development and professionalism, for example, maintenance
and awareness of current business environment and industry trends; commitment to
best practices leads to increased credibility; motivation; networking opportunities;
profitability; self-confidence.
 Acts as a motivation to employee to excel as they perform their duties especially if
they are able to update and upgrade their qualification.
 Maintenance and awareness of the attest industry trends and issues as well as the
business climate
 Delicate themselves to best practices which will lead to increase trustworthiness
 Opportunities to network with other stakeholders in the industry at developmental
seminars to exchange best practices.
 Increased profitability as sales may increase with employees’ awareness of their role
to the success of the business
 Self-confidence and self-worth of employees may improve
The Ideal tourism Professional
 Knowledge of the flora and fauna history, heritage and culture
 Competencies: teamwork, multitasking, flexibility
 Attributes: personality traits, positive attitude, tact, diplomacy.
 Skills: customer service, foreign language, computer literate, communicate
efficiently.
5. Customer Service and Service Quality
Define the term ‘Customer’.
A customer is an individual or business that purchases another company's goods or services.
(a) Definition of a customer (internal and external).

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An internal customer is a person inside the organization (1) who requires your goods and
services, as well as other employees with whom you interact to get the work done. (1) An
external customer, on the other hand is a person outside of the organization (1) who requires
your goods and services. (1)
(b) Using the marketing tools (product, price, promotion, place) to deliver excellent
customer service.
Marketing Tools/marketing Mix: is a combination of factors used by a firm to influence a
customer’s buying decision. The four “P’s” of marketing product, price, promotion and place
are tools use by a firm to meet the needs and wants of the target market.
 Price: is the value that is place on a product. It is the amount of money that a firm
requires the customer to pay in order acquire the product or services. Customers often
an attach a value in their minds to a product. This is what they think is the real worth.
As a result, in pricing its products the firm has to ensure that the prices of the product
are on par with perceived value of the product. It is important to note that some
customer prefer a product and will purchase the product regardless of the price (brand
loyalty). Excellence customer service through price is ensuring that the pricing of
goods and services are clearly outlined, free from hidden fees.
 Place: this represents who the company’s target customers are how it plans to get the
product to the market. This is not simply about the location of the tourist facility; it is
more concerned with the location of the tourists and how the marketing message can
get to them. Most tourist are being targeted in their home country and are induced to
take vacations in the Caribbean through intermediaries such as airlines, travel agents
and travel sites. With the advent of technology, they can see images and view
experiences on twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Ideally the place to connect with
customers is in their comfort zone using multiple means to reach the customer.
 Promotion: the way the customer seeks to improve customers’ knowledge of the
services and products it sells so that these people who are made aware may be turned
into actual purchasers. To achieve promotional aims, advertising, public relations,
sales and brochure production functions are untaken as promotion.
 Product: is the ability of a company to adapt to the needs of its customers in terms of
the services it provides. Products are constantly being adapted to changes in customer
market.
(c) Types of service encounters.
Service encounter: is when the customer interacts with the service firm. This is the
foundation of satisfaction to service quality- “this is where the promises are kept or broken”.\
1. Remote Encounter: this encounter occurs without any direct human contact. When a
customer purchases an airline ticket online, they do not interact with a person, only a
website. Although there is no direct human contact in these remote encounters, each
represents an opportunity for a firm to reinforce or establish perceptions in the
customer.
2. Phone Encounter: in this encounter interaction occurs over the telephone, almost all
firms rely on phone encounters in the form of general enquiry, customer service or
order taking functions. Phone encounter provide greater variability in the interaction.

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 Tone in voice, employee knowledge and effectiveness/efficiency in handling
customer issues become important criteria for judging quality in these encounters.
3. Face-to-face Encounter: this occurs between as employee and a customer in direct
contact. In a hotel face-to-face encounter occur between customers and maintenance
personnel, receptionist, bellboy, food and beverage servers and others. Both verbal
and non-verbal behaviours are important determinants of quality, as are tangible cues,
such as employees dress and other symbols of service (equipment, informational
brochures and physical setting)
(d) Approaches to service (freezer, factory, friendly zoo, quality).
There are two dimensions in service-procedural and personal.
 Procedural dimension consists of the established systems and process to deliver
products and or services.
 Personal relates to how service providers (using their attitudes, behaviours and verbal
skills) interact with customers.
Freezer: Low in both personal and procedural service. Their slogan is “We Don’t care’.
Factory: Good in procedural service, bad in personal service. Their slogan is “You are a
number; we have to process you”.
Friendly Zoo: Bad in procedural service, good in personal service. Their slogan is “We are
trying hard, but we don’t really know what we are doing”.
Quality: They are excellent in both personal and procedural dimensions. Their slogan is “We
care, and we deliver”
(e) Steps in offering fantastic service.
1. Reliability: the ability to provide what was promised, dependably and accurately.
a. Action Strategy: Make sure that you correctly identify customer needs, promise only
what you can deliver and follow through to ensure that the product or service was
received as promised.
2. Assurance: The knowledge and courtesy of employees, and their ability to convey
trust and confidence.
a. Action Strategy: Take the time to serve customers one at a time. Provide service
assertively by using positive commercial techniques and describing products and
services accurately.
3. Tangible: the physical facilities and equipment and the appearance of personnel.
a. Action strategy: Maintain workspaces in a neat orderly manner, dress professionally
and maintain excellent grooming and hygiene standards.
4. Empathy: The degree of caring and individual’s attention provider to customers.
a. Action Strategy: Listen for emotions in your customers’’ message. Put yourself in
their place and respond compassionately by offering service to address their needs and
concerns.
5. Responsiveness: The willingness to help customers and provide prompt services.

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 a. Action Strategy: Project a positive, can-do attitude. Take immediate steps to help
customers and satisfy their needs.
(f) Handling the difficult customer.

 keep the relationship as business-like as possible

 be as efficient, time disciplined and well organized as possible
 provide appropriate facts, figures and success probabilities
 try to identify their primary objectives and thus determine ways to support with these
objectives.
 Don’t take it personally
 Remain calm, listen carefully
 Focus on the problem, not the person.
 Reward yourself for turning a difficult customer into a happy one.
 when all else fails, ask for help

(g) Handling complaints.

 Express respect
 Listen to understand
 Uncover the expectations
 Outline the solution
 Act and follow through
 Double check for satisfaction

(h) Evaluating customer service (mystery shoppers, customer service surveys,

feedback).
1. Mystery Shoppers: this when a company hires a person to examine a business from a
customer perspective- by participating in a shopping experience with the organization.
Before the evaluation the mystery shopper is informed about what aspect of the
business that should be assessed. The time lone of shopping as well as the method of
shopping is outlined prior to shopping. “The shopper aims to be consistent during
sopping evaluations.
(i) Service Quality as a management concept, for example, Total Quality Management,
ISO 9000.
This is a family of standards that provide guidance and tools for companies and organizations
that want to ensure that their products and services consistency meet customer’s requirements
and that quality is consistency improved. The ISO 9000 family includes:
 ISO 9001:2015- sets out requirements of quality management system
 ISO 9000: 2015- covers the basic concepts f language.
 ISO 9004:2009- focuses o how to make a quality management system more efficient
and effective.
 ISO 19011: 2011- sets out guidance on internal and external audits of quality
management.

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(j) Service excellence as a strategic tool, for example, survival; competitive advantage;
increased profitability; sustainable growth; development.
Explain what is meant by the term ‘Service Excellence’
It also involves strategically managing these resources to create favourable impressions in the
mind of customers (1), about the quality of services provided by an organization (1). It
emphasizes delivering delightful customer relationships that will result in competitive
advantage and increased profitability for the organization (1).
Service excellence can be used as a strategic tool.
To differentiate an organization from its competitors (1) — With increased product
Similarities within organizations, service excellence is viewed as a suitable strategy for
differentiating an organization from its competitors. (1) The delivery of excellent customer
service is what makes the difference and assists an organization in gaining competitive
advantage. (1) For example, all pharmacies basically offer the same products, so do building
societies, travel services, banks etc.
The increasing expectation and knowledge of customers, as a result of competition and
increasing travel. (1) – This is causing customers to increasingly demand better quality
services. (1) To keep customers, organizations will have to meet or surpass these expectations
equal to or better than the competition, thereby continuously raising service standards. (1)
Removing all the barriers that prevent the customer from feeling comfortable and
confident as they use the services (1) — It first starts with finding out the customer’s needs
and supplying these needs better than the competitors. (1) It is understanding that the
customer’s wants to be treated well during the process of having his/her problems solved. (1)
Ensuring sustainable growth and development (1) — In order to do this, the organization
uses the needs and wants of customers to guide its decisions about organizational structure,
use of technology, selection of human resources, overall systems and processes and the
aesthetics of premises and offices. (1) Essentially, when an organization is needs driven, it
will ultimately meet customers’ needs for assurance, responsiveness and empathy, leaving
them satisfied and feeling good as every aspect of the organization will be geared towards
achieving this. (1)
Improving employee engagement (1) — Employee engagement strategies include all the
tools and resources provided by the organization to increase employee productivity and
motivational levels, (1) thus improving employees’ loyalty to the organization. These tools
may include on-going training programmes and workshops for employees and opportunities
that include staff at all levels in the decision-making process. (1)
6. Niche Markets
Niche Market: a small, specialized market for a product or service.
Some Niche Markets in Tourism
• 1. Eco Tourism
• 2. Heritage/ Culture Tourism

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 • 3. Sports Tourism
• 4. Community Tourism
• 5. Agri Tourism/ Agro Tourism
• 6. Events
• 7. Spa
• 8. Religious Tourism
• 9. Culinary Tourism/ Food Tourism/ Gastronomic Tourism/Gastrotourism
1. Eco tourism
Ecotourism is also called Nature tourism/ Sustainable Tourism/ Responsible Tourism
Definition:
Eco tourism is defined as
1. Tourism directed towards exotic, often threatened, natural environments, intended to
support conservation efforts and observe wildlife.
2. Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-
being of local people.
 Ecotourism (also called sustainable tourism) can be defined by a variety of travel
practices, which shows respect to nature and does not contribute to the degradation of
the environment.
• Additionally, ecotourism is a part of environmental conservation and it is important
for visitors to understanding the needs of the local people so they can help to improve
their quality of lives. It also involves learning more about the history of host
country/area and preserving the historical landmarks.
Why is ecotourism important?
 The eco tourist travels with more than personal satisfaction in mind. He/she helps the
planet and enables people to lead a more fulfilling life.
 Travelling is a major part of tourism. Some choose to rent cars and drive while others
take planes or trains. Commuting is unavoidable when traveling, the eco-tourism finds
ways to cut back on transport that adds pollution to the air. E.g. He/she may explore
guided areas that offer tours on foot.
Principles of Eco tourism
 Principles of Ecotourism
 Ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. This
means that those who implement, participate in and market ecotourism activities
should adopt the following ecotourism principles:
 Minimize physical, social, behavioral, and psychological impacts.
 Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.

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  Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts.
 Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.
 Generate financial benefits for both local people and private industry.
 Deliver memorable interpretative experiences to visitors that help raise sensitivity to
host countries' political, environmental, and social climates.
 Design, construct and operate low-impact facilities.
 Recognize the rights and spiritual beliefs of the Indigenous People in your community
and work in partnership with them to create empowerment.
 Eco tourists do not support attractions that make animals suffer. Some organizations
are working to save species from extinctions.  At many major attractions, animals are
unfairly caged or forced to participate in performances that cause them stress and
discomfort. Instead of paying to view animals in captivity, the eco tourist goes
sightseeing to see them at play in their natural habitats. There may also go on hiking
trails exploring views of nature and close encounters with diverse species.
Activities in Eco Tourism
Eco Tourism: Jamaica
 Bird Watching: Blue Mountains
 Black River Safari Mangroves
 Black River Safari Eco Tour
 Glistening Waters Jamaica
 Dunn’s River Falls Jamaica
 Hope Zoo Jamaica
 Jamaica Zoo Jamaica
 Konoko Falls Jamaica
 Tree House Tour
Eco Tourism: Barbados
 River Boat Tours
 Tree House
 Cabin Accommodation
Eco Tourism: St. Lucia
 Water Horseback Riding
 Weddings in the Natural Environment
Eco Tourism: Grenada and Bahamas
 Under water Sculpture
 Snorkelling Bahamas
Eco Tourism: Cayman
 Underwater Coral Reefs
 Beach/ Water Activities

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Eco Tourism Antigua and St. Lucia
 Antigua: Yachting
 St. Lucia: Natural Resources
2. Sports Tourism
Definition: In a broad sense, sports tourism is any traveling that is done to participate in a
sporting event – including just watching. If a sport (soccer, baseball, golf, football, cricket,
volleyball) is the primary reason for one’s travels, it can be considered sports tourism.
Why is Sports Tourism Important?
 Aside from the obvious and vast benefits of travel, sports tourism is great for the
economy for one simple reason: it generates economic impact through direct spending
into a community. 
 Sports tourism is a rapidly growing niche in the travel/tourism industry. It is one of
the fastest growing segment within the travel industry today. From weekend golf
tournaments, to going to see the Olympics or an athletic meet, this kind of
tourism brings in tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of viewers. And
guess what? Those people need to eat, and they need places to stay and probably a
souvenir. That means more money to hotels, restaurants, sports and gift shops.
 Not only has sports tourism managed to steadily increase each year, but it has also
taken a spot among the top reasons for traveling and vacationing. More and more
people are using their well-earned vacations to see their favorite players in action. So,
what is sports tourism? It is simply a means to see a competition up close and
personal at a location that is not considered home.
Activities in Sports Tourism
 Athletics/ Olympics
 Cycling Race
 Basketball Matches
 Cricket Tournament
 Swimming Meet
 Car Racing
3. Heritage/ Cultural Tourism
Heritage Tourism as defined by The National Trust for Historic Preservation, “Cultural
heritage tourism is traveling to experience the places, artifacts and activities that authentically
represent the stories and people of the past and present. It includes cultural, historic, and
natural resources.”
Cultural tourism means travel concerned with experiencing cultural environments,
including landscapes, the visual and performing arts, and special (local) lifestyles, values,
traditions, events as well as other ways of creative and inter-cultural exchange processes.
Importance of Heritage/Cultural Tourism

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  The economic and social impact is caused by the incomes created by the cultural
tourism business and supporting businesses. There is an increase in local production
since the cultural tourism activities are strongly connected with other branches of
economy.
 Cultural tourism helps to establish and reinforce an identity. This is an essential
element in preserving and enhancing national and local pride and spirit. Culture and
heritage features are essential in building a country’s image, thus cultural tourism can
be on of the key instruments in developing a positive image of a country
internationally. Cultural tourism helps preserve the cultural and historical heritage.
 Tourism makes an important contribution to culture and historical heritage by
providing means for keeping the traditions alive and finances the protection of
heritage as well as increase visitor appreciation of that heritage. In short - more public
interest and more funds for protection. Tourism interest in the heritage site can be the
key in providing political support for the management and protection of the heritage
in question.
 Well-managed cultural tourism can encourage the revival of traditions and the
restoration of sites and monuments. Cultural tourism makes it possible to find the
balance between protection and the use of heritage. If overused, the site is ruined, and
there will be no future income.
 In a world that is troubled by conflicts and xenophobia often based on
misunderstandings, cultural tourism can facilitate cultural harmony and understanding
among people. More in-depth knowledge of other people’s culture will stimulate
understanding and a wish to cooperate. It promotes communication and integration.
Activities of Heritage/Culture Tourism
Heritage/Culture Tourism: Jamaica
 Monastery
 Rose Hall Great House
 Fort Charles
 Bob Marley Museum
 Devon House
 Fort Charles, Port Royal
 Giddy House, Port Royal
 Old Sugar Mill
 Kings House
Heritage/Culture Tourism: Barbados
 St. Andrew’s Church
 Old Sugar Mill
4. Community Tourism
Community based tourism is tourism in which residents (often rural, poor and economically
marginalized) invite tourists to visit their communities with the provision of overnight
accommodation. 

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  The residents earn income as land managers, entrepreneurs, service and produce
providers, and employees. At least part of the tourist income is set aside for
projects which provide benefits to the community. 
 Community based tourism enables the tourist to discover local habitats and
wildlife, and celebrates and respects traditional cultures, rituals and wisdom. The
community will be aware of the commercial and social value placed on their
natural and cultural heritage through tourism, and this will foster community-
based conservation of these resources. 
 The tourist accommodation and facilities will be of sufficient standard for
Western visitors, albeit those expecting simple rural accommodation. The
community will be required to have continuous access to a phone (which might be
required for medical assistance) and daily access to email (which will be required
by operators to confirm bookings). 
Tourism conducted by the local community in a rural area known as Community Based
Tourism (CBT).
1. CBT can define as tourism owned and managed by community and intended to deliver
wider community benefits. In other words, CBT is local participation, and handing over of
control to the community will result in more benefits to livelihood
2. CBT provides the high possibility to create jobs and generate entrepreneurial opportunities
for local communities from a difference of backgrounds, skills, and experiences. A part of
that, CBT is known as a broad-based plan where it has been used to increases the rural and
urban economies as well as providing opportunities for improved community livelihood.
CBT also considered as a community development tool that strengthens the ability of rural
communities to manage tourism resources while ensuring the local community’s
participation.
5. Agri Tourism
Agri tourism is defined most broadly any agriculturally based operation-based operation or
activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. Agri tourism has different definitions in
different parts of the world, and sometimes refers specifically to farm stays. Elsewhere,
agritourism includes a wide variety of activities, including buying produce direct from a farm
stand, navigating a corn field, feeding hogs, picking fruit, feeding animals, or staying at a bed
and breakfast (B&B) on a farm.
Activities of Agri Tourism
 Farming
6. Spa Tourism
• Spa tourism is part of the wellness tourism in which the experience is associated
with activities that involve health improvement through hydro- therapy or
balneotherapy.
• Wellness tourism is travel for the purpose of promoting health and well-being through
physical, psychological, or spiritual activities.

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7. Religious Tourism
Definition: Religious tourism, also commonly referred to as faith tourism
 Is a type of tourism, where people travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage,
missionary, or leisure (fellowship) purposes?
 In the western world, cities such as Jerusalem, Rome and Mecca continue to attract
millions of visitors on a yearly basis. Religious-oriented travel then has occurred since
the first pilgrimages.  In recent years, however, religious travel and tourism has
developed into a much larger and more segmented market. Today’s religious travel
includes multiple sub-niches that range from the luxury pilgrimage market to
backpacking and from religious institutional travel to volunteer-oriented experiences
meant to help those in some form of need.
The Importance of Religious Tourism
 Religious tourism is one of the earliest forms of tourism. The idea of the religious
pilgrimage begins almost with the dawn of humanity.  Almost since the dawn of
history human beings have traveled to holy sites.  By the Biblical period important
religious centers had become not only a part of the cultural landscape, but they also
had become major players in local marketing and important parts of the economy of
those cities that hosted religious centers. 
 Be aware that in unstable economic times religious travel is often less prone to
economic ups and downs.  Because faith-based travelers are committed travelers
they tend to save for these religious or spiritual experiences and travel despite the
state of the economy.   Faith travelers tend to have different motives for travel then do
travelers for other reasons.  For example, the faith-based traveler often travels as part
of a religious obligation, to fulfill a spiritual mission or to show support for a cause. 
During economically difficult times faith-based travel can provide a steady flow of
income to a local tourism economy.
 Religious tourism is big business.  It is estimated that in the US alone some 25% of
the traveling public is interested in faith-based tourism. When one adds to this the
number of people who travel for faith-based conventions, and faith based activities
such as weddings, bar mitzvahs or funerals, the number become extraordinarily large.
World Religious Travel is one of the fastest growing segments in travel today.
Religious travel is estimated at a value of US$18 billion and 300 million travelers
strong.
Activities of Religious Tourism
 Gospel Concerts
 Religious Tourists in Lebanon
 Religious Freedom Conference- New York
 Catholics at the Vatican in Italy
 Evangelists
 Thousands of Muslims Visit Mecca to Pray
 Religious Volunteers
 Funerals

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  Church Need
 One Day Church Maranatha Project
 Before and After
 One Day Church in by Religious Volunteers
 Finished One Day Church
8. Culinary Tourism.
Culinary tourism also called “gastronomy tourism”, “gastro-tourism”, “gastronomic
tourism” , “food tourism”, and “gourmet tourism”
Culinary tourism in the Caribbean is generally associated with food festivals. The
Caribbean has a long-standing tradition of food festivals that target the natives. This practice
has been extended overseas where Caribbean festivals, with a strong emphasis on food from
the islands, are held in major cities worldwide.
Jamaican Food/ Asian Food
 Rice and peas and chicken
 Sweet and sour chicken with fried rice
9. Health and Wellness Tourism
Catering to persons who seek wellness, therapeutic and curative health solution as a part of or
the main reason for traveling. The Caribbean is laden with mineral baths, tradition medicine
that has proven to effectively great common ailments. With the continuing decriminalization
of Marijuana and persons being granted the license to cultivate and research, the Caribbean-
known to have of the most potent variety of cannabis- can tap into the mutli-million dollars
industry to attract more health and wellness tourists.
10. Events
These are considered as niche product since they offer unique experiences to patrons of
varying interest. Events have enhanced and enriched the offering of destinations since they
offer memorable and lasting experiences. Events attract visitors to Caribbean destinations
during off peak seasons, filings up hotels; increase the demand for transportation and food.
Everybody wins from the staging of events. Cropover in Barbados, Sumfest in Jamaica, jazz
festival in St. Lucia.

Module 2
1. Marketing Concepts
(a) The definition of marketing and tourism marketing.

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Marketing: is a form of communication between a company and customers with the goal of
selling your product or service to them. communicating the value of your product or service
is the main objective of marketing.
Tourism Marketing: is the business discipline of attracting visitors to a specific location.
Tourism enterprises such as hotels, cities, countries, attractions and convention centres apply
marketing strategies that will attract their target market.
(b) Differentiation between goods and services.
Goods are the material items that the customers are ready to purchase for a price. Services
are the amenities, benefits or facilities provided by the other persons. Goods are tangible
items i.e. they can be seen or touched whereas services are intangible items.
(c) Customer needs, wants, expectations:
Customers wants: is the desire for products or services that are not necessary, but which
consumers wish for. For example, food is considered a consumer need.
Customer’s needs: desire for a product's or service's specific benefit, whether that be
functional or emotional.
Customers expectation: are the feelings, needs, and ideas that customers have towards
certain products or services. ... Most successful organizations always aim at meeting or
exceeding customer expectations through high-quality products and services. They are the
outcome of a learning process and once they are formed.
(i) value, satisfaction and quality;
Marketing professionals believe that customer satisfaction results in profits for the company.
It is therefore important to understand what makes customers satisfied, the customer’s
viewpoints-values, belief, needs and wants-should be paramount.
A customer may look at a market offering from two views. One deals with the potential
benefits of the offering; the other is concerned with what has to be given up accessing the
benefit. A business must create products and services that make the customer focus on the
potential benefits.
Value
So, what really is value? Value is the difference between the benefits a customer sees from a
market offering and the costs of obtaining those benefits. So, value is when the customer
believes the cost of acquiring a good or service is worth the spend, because they will benefit
significantly from the product or service. A customer is likely to be satisfied when the value
is higher-when benefits exceed costs by a large margin. On the other hand, a consumer who
sees the costs as greater than the benefits is not likely to spend.
Satisfaction
Building relationships with customers requires that everyone in a company works together to
provide customer value before and after each purchase. All departments and personnel should
be engaged and trained to provide service that will result in customer satisfaction. A long-
term relationship translates in a lifetime of spending for a customer and even their

24
descendants. Gordon Butch Stewart-famed Caribbean hotelier mentioned that Breezes came
about because his customers who had visited Jamaica several times had transitioned from
being couples to parents and no longer found the Sandals train and products to be suitable for
their family lifestyle. He had developed a relationship with these customers and wanted to
please them. like a true business who champion customer satisfaction, he innovated his
business to develop a different chain of hotels-Breezes that is family oriented all-inclusive
hotels. He was able to retain his loyal customers who has transitioned from fun and frolic to
fun and a family.
(ii) exchange transactions and relationships.
Marketing focuses on facilitating exchanges, in fact, marketing does not occur unless two or
more parties are willing to exchange something. A marketing exchange may be part of an
ongoing relationship, not just a single transaction. When marketing helps everyone in a
company meet the needs of a customer before and after a purchase, the company does not just
get a single sale.
2. Methods of Segmentation
Marketing Segmentation: process of dividing the entire market into different customer
segments to decide which segment will be of focus.
Geographic: dividing based on the geographical locations as well as the geographic features
of where the target market live and work. They consider rural versus urban, plains vs
mountainous. In the Caribbean we have segmented our target markets based on geographic
locations. We target tourist from USA, Canada, and England. We further segment these to
target specific cities, so for the USA we target cities as New York that has a wide cross
section of people.
Demographic: dividing the market based on the difference in the demographic factors of the
different groups of customers such as sex, gender, ethnicity, age, education and income. So,
think about popular events such as carnival in Trinidad and Sandz in Jamaica. Carnival
attracts a wide cross section of tourists, young adults- both male and female and middle-aged
men. While Sandz on the other focuses on young energetic, fashion forward young people.
Understanding the demographic profile of tourists is an important step in marketing. If you
know who will be willing to spend to come to your event and their price point, then you will
know who to target.
Psychographic: dividing the market based on personality traits, values, opinion, attitudes,
interests, social class and lifestyles of consumer. For example, psychographic market
segments would be eco-tourism, sports tourism, gastronomy tourism.
Behavioural: dividing the market based on specific behavioural purchasing decisions
enabling producers to adapt their marketing approach to specific group. Behavioural patterns
include but are not limited to spending, consumption, usage, mode of purchase. This is
relevant to online marketing and e-commerce. Millennials (people born in the mid-1990’s to
2000’s) will readily shop online and do not prioritise in traditional brands. This knowledge
will inform a marketing specialist to promote online through the media platforms that are
used more frequently by Millennials, plus give them multiple options to purchase online.
3. Key Marketing Tools

25
Marketing Mix: this was discussed in model one already, however this will b discussed
in this module as it relates to marketing.
Product: Marketers must be able to identify unique features of products and services and
should be able to convey this in a convincing manner to customers.
According to Grassi (2015) discovering the unique selling benefits or benefits that one
product feature has over competition will be on effective marketing strategy.
Price: When trying to attract tourists, companies often use discounts, incentives such as “kids
under 12 or 16 free”, bundling three related needs together such as accommodation,
restaurant and car rental, free shuttle service, bogos (buy one get one free). Some companies
give their clients free concerts, VIP access to sporting events and festivals. Some might
collaborate with local restaurants to give discount coupons. The restaurant gets free
marketing and referrals. Tourist centres, say for example Montego bay, carefully analyse
tourism trends and raise and lower price based on busy or higher season and an off season, in
addition to what competitors are offering to maximize occupancy rates.
Place: where a business distributes its products or service such as through a travel agent, a
website, through wholesalers and using catalogues. Sell by setting up inside sales team,
websites operators and phone operators to handle incoming inquires. Spring break cities work
with packaged vacation tour companies that bring college students to specific hotels by the
bus loads (Grassi 2015). It is important to consider that people do not walk into hotel or an
attraction and pay for the service the same day they went-they usually book beforehand. The
tourist facility is not the place in the 4ps, the place is where the contact is made with the
tourist, and the point off sale may be on the phone, online or via a travel agent. What is most
significant in the place is how to research the target market, through marketing and
intermediaries.
Promotion: using a variety of communication strategies and techniques to promote areas and
destinations, for example;
a) Sending direct mail materials to corporations that hold events.
b) Purchase advertisement space in magazines for meeting planners, Woman’s
magazines, Men’s magazine.
c) Place ads tennis and gold magazines.
d) Billboards in major cities
e) Offering potential visitors’ brochures and discount coupons.
f) Brand ambassadors on Instagram, Twitter, Snap Chat and Facebook
4. Marketing Strategies
(a) Branding and Image
Branding: means the use of a name, term, symbol or design, or a combination of these
identify a product. Branding will become increasingly used to distinguish between destination
where the market is overloaded with messages. According to Milbank (2013) “brands and
images will become more important in the future as destination choice will be shaped by the
values that the consumer holds. Destination brand values of the future will have to be
trustworthy, ethical and sustainable”

26
(i) Destination:
Destination branding -Tangible and Intangible
Trinidad and Tobago
 Attraction
 Participate in activities
 Interact with local people
 Observe geographical features
 Customs
 Hotels
Destination branding
According to Schaar (2013) a destination that successfully differentiate itself, reduces the risk
of being replaced and thus a well-crafted brand images, destination brand can be a powerful
tool in establishing brand loyalty. A destination branding is marketing that focuses on
attracting people to a specific location without recommending specific sites or
accommodation. For example Las Vegas uses the slogan, “What happens in Vegas, Stays in
Vegas”, Jamaica’s slogan is “Once you go, You’ll know”, Barbado’s slogan is “There is
never a dull moment in Barbados” or “Brilliant Barbados”, Trinidad and Tobago’s slogan is
“The true Caribbean”. Destination are trying to separate themselves and their offering from
their competing destinations. Simon Anholt contends that the reputations of countries “are
very much like a brand image of companies and products”. Destination branding is critical to
the country gaining recognition internationally, the government and private sector must
collaborate to make a destination distinguishable from its competitors, the collaboration has
led Kingston for example being designated as the 24th best Place to go in 2017 (Hospitality
Jamaica, 2017). In addition to this Kingston stakeholders has been successful in branding the
city which recently name a UNESCO Creative City of Music (Hospitality Jamaica, 2017).
– the role of the public and private sectors in formulation of the brand;
a) Conduct market research to know what a customer already knows about your
destination to promote a positive image. This is important image is tied to destination
brand.
b) Each stakeholder needs to understand that an important role and should collaborate to
help create and carve out a positive brand image for example pooling funds, to
advertise to target markets as well as to fund market research.
c) Gaining agreement and supportive attitude from tourism supplier and intermediaries.
d) The tourist board needs to sell the country to a vast international audience of ordinary
consumers as well as highly informed professional cadre of tour operators and other
influencers.
e) Appointing a brand manager and brand ambassador who will monitor and supervise
the marketing powers. For example, Usain Bolt is a brand ambassador for Jamaica, he
has given the country a positive image, is well-respected by influential people. He
literally sells the warmth and friendliness of the Jamaica people.
f) The government should inform and educate residents about the nature, value and
purpose of the brand; this can be done through presentations, discussion groups, and

27
 media communications. There is an advertisement from the Tourism Product
Development Company aimed to reduce tourist harassment.
g) Monitor the market responses to branding, assessing the effectiveness of marketing.
– the role of the communities and other stakeholders in branding.
a) Keep up to date on the last tourism development to see how they can capitalize on it.
b) Keep community clean, so that’s a positive brand image is maintained.
c) Lobby government for tourist visits to community
d) Keep regular meetings to discuss challenges and threats to the brand.
e) Seek funding for beautification and maintenance of aesthetics.
5. Distribution Channels
Produces the link between the consumer- It is a system of distribution that makes the product
available. This take place when the sale to the consumer is made through an intermediary.
(a) Traditional:
(i) the role of intermediaries.
 market the products and service of the tourism entity to the consumer.
 Create packages of tourism service and products based on needs and demands of
consumers.
 They set the price of tourism packages.
(ii) tourism wholesalers; are companies that purchase tourism products and services such as
room,, seats on flights, tour attractions in bulk, usually 20% discount and sell them to
retailers at a cheaper price/cost than they would if they were purchasing it directly from the
tourist supplier. Tourism wholesaler maybe government run attractions.
(iii) tour operators; specializes in package holiday, they buy tours in bulk from attractions,
museums, galleries, caves etc, and market tours to segments in the tourist market
internationally and locally. Packages are tailored to families, singles, couples who are
interested in tour. Tour operators are responsible to resolve the issues that may come up
during the tours as they are responsible for the tourist after the sale of the package. Provision
should be made for language variations of the tourists.
(iv) travel agents; selects and organize holidays for specific tourists on a limited budget,
offer advice and opinions and suitable holiday packages, flights, tours and cruises in the
destination. Destinations often invite influential travel agents on familiarization tours where
the agent get first-hand experience of the destination so that they are better able to promote
and package vacation for their clients. This is an important marketing strategy to invite travel
agents as they see that the destination is serious about the business of tourism and hospitality.
(v) consolidators; a company or individual who negotiates bulk contracts with an airline (or
other travel supplier) and sell that space to the general public usually at a discount.
Wholesalers of airline tickets use consolidators as a means to reach out to more niche target
audiences and by offering discounts and fare flexibility that is relevant to the target group.
(vi) charter brokers; a specialist agent who acts as a representative for the leasing of an
aircraft or sea vessel. The charter broker is paid on agreed commission for finding the aircraft

28
or sea vessel available for charter/lease and act as a middleman in negotiations between a
charterer (the client) and an aircraft or sea vessel operator. The charter broker has the
following responsibility;
 Deals directly with charter operators to represent the interests of the client/traveller.
 Tackles competition rates
 Organise the logistics of a trip and other details trip planning.
 Responsible to find the right aircraft based on the purpose and length of the trip.
(vii) reservation systems; computerized system used to store and retrieve information and
conduct transactions related to air travel, hotels, car rentals or activities. E.g. Expedia, Orbitz
and Travelocity.
(viii) visitor information centres; these provide advice to tourists while promoting specific
tourism products and services at a destination. They usually employ friendly staff that
provide information on accommodation and other critical information to help tourists to make
the most of their trips.
(b) Contemporary:
(i) E-Marketing; email marketing is a system that accepts subscription from current and
potential customers to promote products and services, as well as to update them about the
latest products and services being offered by the company. This involves using the internet
and internet tools such as pop-up-ads, video advertisement on YouTube, marketing on blogs
and via online reservation systems.
(ii) Social Media; used to share experiences in real time by actual users of a tourist product.
This provides instant reviews and impression of the product and services. Allow the potential
customer to comment with companies by asking them questions on their pages that can be
viewed by the public or via inbox if they want more responses.
6. Marketing Communications
(a) Public relations.
The second type of marketing communication is public relations. PR will help create brand
awareness among the customers in more subtle way. This aspect is what makes Public
Relations different from advertising. While advertising promotes products in aggressive way,
self-serving and subjective, PR communicates the product in much softer way and more
objective. In addition, PR mentioning your product is probably the only type of marketing
communication which is free of charge.
News stories and feature articles are more authentic and credible than advertisements to readers.
The articles act as testimonials. The message gets through to the potential buyers as news and
they may not turn away from it as they turn away from the advertisements.
(b) Advertising (print or broadcasts, infomercials, websites).
Advertising is a public mode of communication. Because it is communicated simultaneously
to large number of people and people know that the same communication is going to many
people, they feel their motives for buying are understood by the advertiser.

29
Advertising messages can be repeated number of times. Buyers also can compare
advertisements of various companies selling the same product. The media offers the facility
to add colour, sound etc. to the message and dramatize the message. But advertising cannot
have dialogue with the people. People may not see and pay attention to the advertisement.
Advertising is an efficient way to reach geographically dispersed potential buyers at a low
cost per exposure.
Advertising has two recent variants. Advertorials are offer editorial content and while it is
paid for by the advertiser and it will be difficult for the reader to easily make out that it is an
advertisement. Similarly, infomercials are TV programs that are meant for promoting the
products of the company. They discuss the working of the product, benefits of the products,
and user experience etc. and they may beam the message to buy the product and the address
to be contacted.
Being the most powerful device of marketing communication, advertising offers an extended
reach to audience and high frequency of message delivery. Since this type of marketing
communication is expensive, you must consider making the most of it. Try to use different
kinds of advertising media to approach different kinds of people.
Set adequate budget for advertising; whether you are going to make the advertising idea
yourself or rely on the advertising company. Making your own advertisement—suppose you
have a great team for that—will be less costly yet you risk a poor marketing communication
to happen. Advertising companies may charge you a lot of money, but the cost will worth the
effect, though.
(c) Sales promotions.
Sales promotion tools like coupons, contests, premiums, and the like act as communication
medium and promote sales.
They gain attention and provide information that may lead the consumer to the product. They
include a distinct invitation to the consumer to do the transaction in a short period of time.
Discounts are the most favourite type of sales promotion. There are many customers who
make spontaneous buying decision at the time of sale. Seeing this fact, you might start to
think, how to make use of this situation.
Many marketers decide to put some devices of marketing communication in the place where
the discount program occurs. This will increase the possibility of the customers to see the
messages. The devices used in this strategy may include shelf talkers, overhead signs,
window signs, and at cetera.
(d) Personal selling.
Personal selling as a communicative channel involves a live, immediate, and interactive
relationship between persons. Personal selling leads to relationships. The listener feels
obligated to respond to the salesman at least with a polite “thank you.”
(e) Direct Marketing.

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The alternatives are direct mail, Email, and telemarketing. In these cases, the message is
addressed to a specific person. The message can be customized. Even though mailing folders
and email are normally standardized to gain efficiency. The message can be up to date. In
case of telemarketing, message can be altered depending on the response. In the case of other
alternatives subsequent communication can be altered depending on the response.
(f) Social Media.
Social commercials market share is rising, thanks to services like YouTube, Facebook and
Vimeo. According to a 2011 study, "88% of all companies that have conducted social media
advertising are satisfied with it." [2] Indeed, social commercials are steadily permeating our
everyday lives, in the forms of billboards, apps, TV, and even print media. There is a large
increase of businesses using video via YouTube for local business pages such as Google
Local (formerly known as Google Places) which was integrated as part of the Google Plus
network in 2010.
7. Market Research
(a) Concept of Market Research.
 It is the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting data in order to make an
informed decision about a product, customers, target market or industry
 It provides management with information that is current, accurate, valid, relevant and
reliable
 Marketing opportunities can be identified
 The needs of the target market can be ascertained
 The firm can gather information to assist it in pricing the product
 To assess the level of competition in the market
 To monitor the firms performance in the market
 Prevents the firm from making uncalculated risks
 To ascertain the features of a product that appeal to the target market
(b) Types of Marketing Research (exploratory, Descriptive, Causal).
 Exploratory: this design involves the gathering of preliminary information which can
be used to define the problem further and suggests what is needed to conduct more
detailed research
 Descriptive: this design outlines the demographics and characteristics of the target
market. It gives a clear description of the market and the potential for a new product
offering in that market
 Casual: this research aims to ascertain the cause and effects of an issue. It is usually
done by using experiments to assess how changes in the independent variable will
affect the dependent variable
(c) Market Research Process:
 The research plan outlines the courses of action that will be taken throughout the
research
 It outlines the aims and objectives, methodology, research instrument, sources of data,
management of data, analysis of data and publications of findings

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(i) defining the problem;
 The entire research is dependent on defining the problem
 The problem statement maybe written as a question
 A properly written problem statement has two variables- dependent and independent
Defining the research objective.
Research objectives describe concisely what the research is trying to achieve. They
summarize the accomplishments a researcher wishes to achieve through the project and
provides direction to the study.
(ii) developing the research plan;
Here, we take a look at the second step in market research: developing the overall research
plan. It's one of the more complex steps because it contains several distinct components.
One of the components of a research plan is deciding who can provide information that is
most germane to the research questions and the alternate business decisions. This task
includes the construction of a sampling plan that will ensure the data collected is
representative of the overall target population.
The processes that are involved in identifying and obtaining a sample are known collectively
as the sampling plan. A sample unit is the group of potential research participants or
respondents from which the sampling frame will be developed and from which the sample
will ultimately be selected.
 Determine a Sampling Frame
The first decision that a market researcher must make is to determine the sampling frame. In
order to accomplish this step, the market researcher must define the target population. They
must answer the question: Who is going to participate in the research?
A sampling frame is developed from the sampling unit, the main purpose of which is to
ensure that each member of the target population has an equal chance of being sampled.
However, this consideration is not a stipulation for conducting qualitative research, because
the "equal chance" parameter only applies to evidence-based research in which a hypothesis
is being tested.
 Establish a Sample Size
The second decision that the market researcher needs to make is related to the sample size.
How many people will be participants in the research?
In quantitative research, the goal is to achieve a representative sample of the target
population, and this can best be attained through consideration of sample size, levels of
confidence, and confidence intervals.
Generally speaking, the larger the sample, the more reliable the research findings will be, and
typically, the more the findings can be generalized to the target population in a quantitative
research project. The rule of thumb is that a sample will provide good enough reliability
when just less than one percent of the target population participates in a research study. The
caveat is that the sampling procedure must be credible and rigorously executed.

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  Choose a Sampling Procedure
There are two fundamental types of sampling procedures: Probabilistic sampling and non-
probabilistic sampling. As with qualitative research and quantitative research, there are
proponents and critics of probability and non-probability sampling procedures.
For quantitative research, a researcher draws a probability sample from the target population
in order to calculate certain statistical considerations. The probability sample reveals the
confidence levels or confidence limits related to sampling error.
Probabilistic sampling can be a drain on resources—including time, money, and expertise—
but it does allow a market researcher to measure sampling error. Non-probability sampling
procedures can provide very useful data and, ultimately, market insights.
Different methods and techniques will produce different forms of data, and it is critical to
ensure that the sampling procedures match the type of data that is needed to answer the
research questions.
 Get Participant Consent
Once market researchers develop a prospective sampling plan and establish the sampling
frame, then they must figure out how to best contact and communicate with the participant
group that appears to be the best match for the research project. The potential participants
must first agree to participate in the study and, second, that agreement must be based on their
comfort with the research conditions and their granting of informed consent.
(iii) implementing the research plan;
The researcher next plus the marketing research plan into action. This involves collecting
processing and analysing the information. Data collection can be carried out by the
company’s marketing research staff or by outside firms. The data collection phase of the
marketing research process is generally the most expensive and the most subject to error.
Researchers should watch closely to make sure that the plan is implemented correctly. They
must guard against problems with contacting respondents with respondents who refuse to
cooperate or who give biased answers and with interviewers who make mistakes or take
shortcuts.

Researchers must also process and analyse the collected data to isolate important information
and findings. They need to check data for accuracy and completeness and code it for analysis.
The researchers then tabulate the results and compute statistical measures.
(iv) interpreting and reporting the findings.
 Interpretation
The second stage is to determine what the results mean and how significant they are in the
specific context to which they belong. The reasons behind certain hygiene practices and to
what extent they are influenced by sociocultural factors can be teased out when the study
team's multiple perspectives are brought to bear on the results. Wider issues concerning our

33
understanding of the links between hygiene practices and health can also be explored in the
light of the findings.
The following are some of the questions for the study team to answer when interpreting the
study results:
• What do the results mean?
• Why did the results turn out the way they did?
• What are possible explanations of the results?
• Have all the why questions been answered? Do some of them require further investigation?
The interpretation of findings should ideally reflect the comments and suggestions made by
members of the study population(s) during the feedback sessions that are built into the use of
investigative and analytical methods/tools, such as those described in Chapters 5 and G. This
will help minimize the biases that can creep into the interpretation of results, making sure that
they are not separated from the context in which information was gathered (see Box 24).
 Presentation of findings
The results of your hygiene evaluation study may be reported in different ways depending on
the target audience or readership. To begin with, you will have a written report which will
contain a complete record of the study processes and findings. Once you have completed the
report, you may decide to extract parts of it, and prepare short summaries for dissemination
among the various stakeholders who will expect to learn about your results. In this section,
we will deal with the complete report first and then suggest additional ways in which it may
be disseminated among specific audiences or readerships.

Writing a Complete Study Report

At the end of the investigation and analysis processes, you will find yourself with
considerable amounts of fieldnotes, charts, and other written records of what you have done.
These will all need to be systematically organized, kept in notebooks, and files compiled by
hand or on a computer, if available. You can then start putting them together following a
report outline, as shown in "Stages of Analysis and Interpretation of Findings" in this chapter.
Box 25 provides an example of a report outline.

 Implementation of findings

Many of the methods and tools described in this handbook lead naturally from collecting and
analysing data (i.e., establishing what the problem is) to planning what needs to be done to
address the issues raised. For example, a health walk may reveal that part of a community is
using a water source particularly vulnerable to pollution for its drinking water. Indeed, we
have seen in Chapter 5 the impact of information gathered during a health walk on project
design and implementation. Similarly, information from focus group discussions and semi-
structured interviews may reveal a higher incidence of diarrhoea among this group.
Presentation of these findings to the community will almost inevitably lead to a discussion of
what needs to be done to remedy the situation, moving the emphasis from data collection to

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implementation. Thus, a hygiene evaluation study does not end with the presentation of
findings. It should lead to follow-up action based on the findings.

Whether or not participatory approaches are given importance in the evaluation, the end
result of the study will be the identification of high-risk hygiene practices which currently
exist, embedded in a context of local physical conditions, beliefs, and ideas. You will almost
inevitably advocate that follow up action should include hygiene promotion activities. The
goal of any hygiene promotion project must be to influence people to abandon the high-risk
practices identified in favour of low risk, safe practices. But, what influences people's
decisions to change their normal practice? Many studies have shown that the answer to this
question is "not received knowledge alone." Commonly, four factors influencing behavioural
change are identified:

• Facilitation. The new practice makes life easier for the person adopting it.
• Understanding. The new practice makes sense in the context of existing local
knowledge/ideas.
• Approval. Important and respected people in the community approve of and have adopted
the practice.
• Ability to make change. It is physically possible for the person concerned to make the
necessary changes.

Below are some examples of how information gathered using this handbook may be fed into
an implementation process that takes these four factors into account:

Facilitation. In order to get people to use safe water for drinking purposes, it may be
necessary to ensure that there are sufficient protected water sources throughout the
community to make it easier and more convenient to use as opposed to traditional,
unprotected ones. In planning terms, this may mean continuing a mapping exercise that
identified existing sources instead of using the map, with the community, to plan the location
of new water points.

Understanding. Hygiene promotion messages and activities are not received by people in a
vacuum. Rather they are assessed, accepted, modified, or rejected by people within the
context of their existing health concerns and beliefs about illness. A number of similar
evaluations have, for example, elicited the local concepts of hot and cold illnesses that need
to be treated by controlling diet and reducing intake of some foods. In a number of cases, the
promotion of ORS has run into difficulties because diarrhoea is classified as a hot illness
requiring treatment with cooling substances, while sugar, a major constituent of ORS, is
categorized as hot, therefore rendering ORS an unsuitable treatment. Project implementers
have found various ways to overcome such problems including substituting honey
(considered a cooling substance) for sugar in one case, and in another, encouraging people to
use ORS in conjunction with herbal teas made from guava leaves - a traditional remedy
considered cooling and seen to overcome the perceived heating effect of the sugar in ORS.

Approval. In order to enhance the desirability of change, it may be necessary to target

hygiene promotion at certain groups of trend setters, such as traditional healers, local leaders,
or young mothers who are likely to be copied by their peers. Often this would best be done
through a continued use of the group discussion techniques used earlier in the evaluation.

35
Ability. If behavioural change requires resources, it may be beyond some people's abilities to
make the change. Promotion of latrines, for example, may need careful planning with
communities, using many of the techniques discussed earlier to enable targeted
assistance/subsidies to be allocated to those who would otherwise be unable to make the
change.

In projects where the promotion of low risk hygiene practices has been achieved, the follow-
up action to evaluations may involve tackling other issues that are next in the list of priorities.
Whatever the outcomes of your study are, we shall be interested to learn about your
experiences of using this handbook

8. Marketing Plan

(a) Key components of a marketing plan:

(i) Executive Summary; provides a synopsis of the type of business, the objectives and the
target market. It gives an overview of the business climate, statement about the competition,
social, economic and political conditions. Description of the product and services and any
unique features and the sector or industry it belongs to.
(ii) situation analysis:
- external; tax for operating business, licences and regulatory compliance. Identifying
organisations that provide support to the business. The accessibility of funding and capital.
For example, vendors the business will rely on to complete its business functions.
- customer; identify the ideal customer, their spending habits, their demographic details and
the stage they are in life, that is are they young university graduates, newly webs, parents or
retire.
- internal; the skills, talents, experience, abilities of the human resource personnel. For
example, networking abilities.
(iii) SWOT Analysis;
Strengths: the positive features of the business, factors that aid its sustainability.
Weaknesses: the aspects of the business that requires improvement and attention.
Opportunities: in what areas can the business grow, expand or develop. Possibilities for the
business to increase market share, upset the competition and deepen its business linkages.
Threats: factors that make the business vulnerable to shocks, profit loss and failure. These
are factors that put the business operation at a risk. For example, the recent hike in property
tax values in Jamaica was identified as a threat by hoteliers who saw an increase of 100% in a
property tax they had to pay to the government.
(iv) Mission Statement
These are powerful and impactful statements address the key markets that the business selling
to. It should articulate the business’s intend contribution to the industry. The mission
statement should distinguish the business from its competition. This is where business can
promote its “unique selling proposition”.

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(v) marketing goals and objectives;
These should be measurable for e.g. distribute products to 75% of restaurants by 2019. Goals
may include sales, profits or customer’s satisfaction.
(vi) marketing strategies;
 Networking- go where your market is.
 Direct marketing- sales letter, brochures and flyers.
 Advertising- print media directories.
 Training programs- to increase awareness.
 Write articles- give advice become known as an expert.
 Direct/ Personal selling
 Publicity Press release
 Trade show
 Websites
(vii) marketing budget;
(viii) implementation; the following implementation strategies can be adopted when
implementing a marketing plan;
 Build a marketing team and secure resources: identify the specific materials or
education required. For example, graphic artiste, spokesperson, vehicle and the
internet.
 Communicate the plan: team members need to be updated and have a clear vision
and idea as to how the marketing will take place. The marketing goals should be
understood by all members, they should also understand their roles.
 Build a timeline with tasks: break the project into smaller tasks and deadlines to
make it manageable.
 Set up a taskforce to track performance: this will help the team to measure what
tasks have been completed and the quality of the completion.
 Monitoring and check-up regularly: this will help the team to ascertain what is
working from what is not working. Ideally this should be done on a daily basis. This
may mean a making adjustment to the timeline.
 Communicate results and celebrate success: this will make team members feel
good. For example, after an event that was marketed by the team, the manager can
communicate the event earnings, the attendance summary. This will boost the team
self-worth and their full support for the next venture.

Module 3
1. Concepts
(a) Entrepreneur.
 This is someone who assembles and then integrates all the resources needed to
transform an invention into a viable business.
 The resources could include money, people, technology, strategies, business plan.

37
(b) Entrepreneurship.
 Is a business activity which generates economic and or social value.
 It involves the application of human creativity, ingenuity, knowledge, skills and
energy to develop something new
(c) Innovation.
 This a process of creating something new.
 It is the act that endows resources with new capacity to create new wealth.
(d) Micro, small, medium enterprises.
These are enterprises that employ fewer than 250 persons and which have an annual return
not exceeding and established return that is usually lower than that of a large business.
(e) Risk willingness and risk aversion.
This is the willingness to invest time, capital, funds and energy into business venture without
a guarantee of profitable returns. Persons who take risk in business are said to have a high-
risk tolerance. This willingness to take risk is what separates entrepreneurs from the average
person. They believe in their ideas and pursue it to the further point to set up a business.
Risk aversion: this is the fear of taking risks, these persons have a low risk tolerance, and
their fear losing their assets prevents them from investing in ventures that do not have a
guaranteed return on investments.
2. Personal Abilities and Talents of Entrepreneurs
 Self confident and persistent
 Motivated to create something new
 Comfortable in stressful situations
 Willing to make sacrifices
 Sensitive to good ideas
 Mentally tough
 Competitive
 Multitasker
 Good networkers
 Have long term vision
3. Attitudes and Behaviours of Successful Tourism Entrepreneurs
 Achievement oriented,
 Competitive
 Innovative
 Inclined to take risks
 Proactive
 Determined and committed to their goals
4. Opportunities for Entrepreneurship
(a) Non-traditional areas, for example, homestays, volunteering.

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AirBnB
The non-traditional opportunities to earn in the Caribbean are endless. Yannek Page (2015) in
a Jamaica gleaner shared that several Jamaicans had etched out a out a profitable venture by
subscribing to AirBnB which is a website that connects ordinary residents to travellers who
want a short term affordable rent options (Page earning Big From Extra Space, 2015).
Travellers are welling to sleep on inflatable beds or evn on a couch. Page states that “price
range from a low of US $10 per for a shack in Roaring River to US $2,143 per night for a
luxury villa in discovery Bay” (Page, Earning Big From Extra Space, 2015) AirBnB is one of
the most accessible non-traditional opportunities that exist, especially for persons living in
and around tourist facilities, natural and man-made attractions.
Content Creation
Technology you made all types of knowledge relevant. A growing non-traditional
entrepreneurial venture is travel and lifestyle blogging and vlogging. The broad term for this
is content creation, so bloggers, vlogger, instagrammers, and YouTubers are content creators.
How does one earn from content creation? Essentially when they create videos, pictures,
memes, write blog entries and articles that are consumed by people- who now a days have an
insatiable appetite for content- they earn when corporate entities advertise on their pages or
embed advertisement in their videos. They also get paid on viewership as well as visits to
their pages. This is a growing and limitless opportunity for people to earn. According to
YouTube 5 billion videos are watched every day, the site also has 30 million visitors daily.
This is testament that people are consuming content that has been created. Some content
creator is paid by marketing companies to promote products and services to their audience.
Content creation is a new way for people to earn in the tourism industry, it also people to
learn about places, trends, products and services before they make decision to travel to a
destination. This knowledge is powerful enough to influence their choices.
Technology
Technology is said to be anything created to make people lives easier. People have been
creating apps that help tourists to navigate the destination better. They create apps that
recommend services for tourists, provides information on restaurants, spas and attractions.
They are also apps that help tourists with understanding and communicating the language of
the destination.
(b) Secondary/subsidiary activities, for example, gas stations, medical services, coconut
vendors.
Before we can clearly identify the non-traditional opportunities in tourism, we must remind
ourselves of the traditional types of opportunities in tourism in the Caribbean for the ordinary
Caribbean citizens. These include and are not limited to small accommodation facilities such
as inns, bed and breakfasts, selling craft item in the market, setting up restaurant and bars,
braiding tourist hair in traditional styles. Most of the large entities such as chain hotels and
cruise ships were owned by multi-national corporations. Caribbean entrepreneurs benefitted
from these business activities. Think about the tourism industry linkages as a biological
relationship of commensalism and mutualism. Commensalism exists when an entrepreneur
sets up a business in the area of the dominant business, which acts as a host to small
entrepreneur. The small entrepreneur relies on the customer that the host business attracts,

39
without harming (resulting in financial loss) to the host business. In some cases, the
entrepreneurial activities around the host business can enhance the product and services that
are being offered. Think about hair braiders on the piers of Trelawny. When a cruise ship
(host) docks and the tourist descend on the pier, they are greeted with the friendly smiles and
skilful hands of the hair braiders. The tourists pay to get their hair done, look in the mirror
and feel pleased. The hair braiders benefit by earning US dollars and the tourist has a pleasant
experience of shopping at the pier, the cruise shipping company gets good referral-everybody
wins.
Mutualism exist between Floyd’s Pelican Bar in Treasure Beach and Boat operators who
transport tourists to this bar that is located off the coast of Treasure Beach in St. Elizabeth.
The boat operators benefit from the operation of the bar business, without the bar’s existence
then the opportunity to transport tourist and earn would not have existed.
(c) Requirements for establishing a tourism enterprise:
(i) licences and permits; the following sectors generally require license issued by their
respective Tourist Boards to operate tourism products and services based on tourism
legislation and policies in the Caribbean. It must be noted that some of these licenses have a
fee attached.
 Tourist Accommodation licenses
 Spa Licenses
 Bike Rental Licenses
 Craft Traders Licenses
 Contract Carriage Licenses
 Domestic Tours Licenses
 Places of Internet/ Places of worship Approval
 Travel Agencies Licenses
 Water Sports
(ii) regulations; the following regulations may be required to set up a tourism business in
some Caribbean countries:
 Registration of Companies
 Application for Licenses (from the Tourist Board)
 Public Health Certificate for Food Establishments
 Fire Safety Certificate
 First Aid Supplies approved by Ministry of Health
 Public Liability Insurance
 Food handlers’ permit
It is critical that the government regulate products and services to ensure that they meet an
acceptable standard, to maintain a positive image and reputable destination brand and
importantly to reduce the risk associated with delivering services such as loss of life or
disease outbreak.
(d) Factors of entrepreneurship:
(i) motivation;
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Internal factors….
 Personal fulfillment
 Unemployment, job loss, job dissatisfaction, the need for more meaningful work, the
need for independence, lack of personal security, the desire for additional income,
special talents/skills, available resources

External factors….
 Supportive environment-government incentives and low taxes
 Existing unsatisfied markets
 Favorable financial climate
 Available opportunities
 Existing need or gap.
(ii) push factors - unemployment, job loss, need for independence, lack of personal or
physical security;
 Increasing monetary requirements
 Lack of suitable jobs
 Lack of career prospects
 Lack of proper education
 Low paying jobs
 Lack of job security
 A need to express creativity
 need for independence,
 lack of personal or physical security;
(iii) pull factors -
 incentives,
 available opportunities;
(iv) conditions for success, for example, skills, technologies;
 supportive government policies
 acceptable levels of crime
 well trained and educated human resources.
 Technology to support business.
(v) supportive environment;
(vi) entrepreneurial climate and infrastructure.
(e) Types of ventures:
Franchise…

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  This is a form of business opportunity in which a a firm that already has successful
product or service license its trademark and method of doing business to other
businesses
Family….
 This is a business that is controlled by the members of a single family. With family
members holding key positions.
Sole Proprietorship……
 One person owns the business and takes responsibility and liability.
 He or she retains all the profits. This type of business is relatively cost effective and
simply. E.g. craft items
Partnership……
 This allows two or more persons to start the business
 This allow the pooling of resources and skills
 In general partnership both partners are fully liable for all the partnerships debts. In a
limited liability the limited partner is liable up to the amount of their investment.
Corporation…..
 This is a legal entity which is separate from its owners(shareholders)
 Shareholders are not liable for debts and obligations of the corporation
 A board of directors manages the corporation and persons are hired for day to day
operation.
 Sometimes sole trader or partnership operations end up being a corporation after a
venture grows
5. Entrepreneurship Process in the Tourism Context
(a) Identify opportunities.
This is where the entrepreneur discovers a problem that he/she can earn by fixing by setting
up a business. In some cases, the entrepreneur brainstorms entrepreneurial opportunities
when they seek a way to sustain themselves or to earn additional income. According to
Afzaal Ali, it is the point at which the entrepreneur generates ideas, recognizes the potential
to earn and studies how to gain a foot in the market.
An example of discovering and brainstorming an Opportunity.
There is a shortage of French Speaking Tour Guides in Port of Spain.
French Tourists are visiting the island in ever increasing numbers.
I am competent in both French and English and I have experience in organizing tours.
(b) Assessment of the influences on the opportunities:

42
(i) internal influences, for example, skills personality, aspirations, experience;
(ii) external influences, for example, political, economic, social, technological.
Internal Influences: these are the intangible qualities that the potential entrepreneur
possesses. They may prior experience, if not they may be coachable and be willing to learn
about the business. This is the self-reflection done by the entrepreneur; they assess
themselves to see if they possess the requisite skills, personality, aspirations and experience
to run the business.
External Influences: this is equally important as internal influences. Political conditions in a
country can influence people to set up tourism ventures especially if the government
encourages it. Some governments provide assistance to their citizens via funding in Tourism
Enhancement Fund that beautifies landscapes in tourist areas among other things. The
governments of the Caribbean facilitate entrepreneurs through training opportunities, grants
and low interest loans.
Economically: the supply countries that Caribbean tourism relies on are doing well
economically. Canada, USA and UK are still doing well enough so that their citizens can
afford to take a vacation in the Caribbean. The banks are also doing well in the Caribbean and
so they are willing to lend entrepreneurs money to start a business. Other sources of funding
are also available through various development banks, funds and grants.
Social: the infrastructure in the country such as roads, bridges, internet, electricity and
reliable running water can positively influence entrepreneurship. The overall cleanliness and
aesthetics if the country is an important social influence to set up a business. The standards of
health care and the extent to which communicable disease are being managed can influence
the setting up of a business.
(c) Evaluate opportunity:
(i) market research; it is quite disheartening that studies have found that market research
is greatly lacking or inadequate among local entrepreneurs in the Caribbean tourism sector.
With adequate and ongoing market research business will develop a critical understanding of
their target market, solve operational problems, identifying niche opportunities, they will be
able to understand the trends and patterns in the industry, it will provide them with valuable
information that will help them with product development. Even more importantly it helps
the business to better advertise and promote to the target market.
(ii) gather resources; each entrepreneur requires different types of resource. The resource
that they will need is dependent on the nature of their business. Some may need to build a
structure other just need the internet and a phone. Regardless of the peculiar needs that are
required, most entrepreneurs will need some funds. This can be sourced from their savings,
loans from family and friends or from government, non-government organisations or private
sector organisation.
(d) Make decisions:
(i) Go ahead; after the entrepreneur has brainstormed, identified opportunities, assess
external and internal influences, evaluate the opportunity they may feel confident to invest

43
the resources they have gathered and started a business. This entrepreneur though being
cognizant of the risk being taken, they are willing to take the risk.
(ii) abandon opportunity; despite doing all the necessary research an entrepreneur may
have to abandon an opportunity. It quite possible that the government may have made a
drastic policy change that would increase the cost of operation that would not make this
business sustainable. It is also quite possible that the entrepreneur may not be able to secure
all the funds that are needed to secure resources and pay necessary fees.
6. Challenges to Entrepreneurship
 Startup capital
 Access to financial assistance
 High interest rates
 Reluctance of lending agencies to give loans to inexperienced entrepreneurs or for
new untested products or services
 Operational costs-labor
 Building product /service awareness
 Risks and liability insurance
 Lack of incentives
 Strict government policies
 High taxation
 In experience
 Competition
Pros and cons of being an entrepreneur.
Pros of being an Entrepreneur Cons of being Entrepreneur

Flexibility: it gives great amount of freedom Administration: it requires entrepreneurs to

and flexibility. Entrepreneur sets their own
schedule and goals.
Exciting: it can be exciting and fulfilling,
although it is challenging, they can get new
skills and abilities.
Rational salary: the entrepreneur’s income
is directly related to their effort and the
success of their business.
Control: entrepreneurs can choose the work
they like to do, that makes the most of their
strengths and skills.
delicate a huge amount of time, to make
decisions and to complete paperwork.
Competitions: it can be difficult to compete
with other businesses. The need to
differentiate from other businesses can be
difficult.
No Regular salary: it does not guarantee
100% success, there is no security of a pay
check.
The work Schedule: It comes with
unpredictable work schedules.

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