Economic impacts of innovations in tourism marketing

Abstract

Our paper tackles the novel issues of the economic impacts and innovations in tourism marketing in the 21st century. The paper examines the economic impact of tourism and its influence on the economy and the tourism industry in general from the angle of innovations in the tourism marketing and the new challenges for the tourism industry brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted international tourism and caused major economic losses to the industry. We analyse the changes that the coronavirus pandemic made to the tourism industry and focus on the novel trends in tourism marketing that embeds the new informational technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), online Zoom tours, and other novelties that emerged after the lockdowns and social distancing imposed in the first half of 2020 in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection. Our results show that tourism marketing in the 21st century should be based on sustainable management and provide the right answers to questions about the impacts of tourism on the economy without sacrificing positive economic growth. We also show that information technologies might offer viable alternatives to massive international over-tourism and package tours ensuring both the safety of travel and deeper immersion into the travel experience before, during, and after the trip. Our outcomes might be useful for tourism scholars, policymakers, as well as stakeholders specializing in international tourism marketing.

Changes in Consumption Patterns and Tourist Promotion after the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Whereas tourism marketing in destinations is a well-known activity, the essence of these responsibilities changes when having to face a disaster and deal with its consequences [43][44][45]. Tourism management organizations, hotel establishments and other tourism and destination businesses should coordinate their promotion and marketing initiatives [46].…”

“…According to Dore and Crouch [72], advertisements are the most widely used promotional tool by DMOs, mainly for consumers, whereas personal sales are mainly used in the tourism industry (trade fairs, familiarisation trips, incentive trips, etc.). Some authors defend the use of new technologies as advertising to relaunch the sector, for example, using augmented reality in the tourism sector in accordance with the WHO and UNWTO guidelines [44].…”

Virtual Tours to Promote the Remote Customer Experience

“…Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic situation emphasized the need of new marketing solutions in order to promote remote experience of products and places. In the last year, VR offered a risk-free way to escape the destination and travel in a safe and comfortable way [9]. In this context, VR could be used to ensure the creation of an interactive and engaging tours with the scope to emotionally affect the user and raise his/her awareness about the culture of a typical product and its origin, encouraging consumers from all over the world to visit physical dairies and to buy products.…”

Tourism And Recreation Cluster Competitiveness Comprehensive Study In The Region's Quality Life

“…Taking into account the general population parameters and the sample with a statistical validity of 95%, the confidence interval was 5%. The possibility of choosing domestic tourism was noted by 88.5% of respondents, related to coronavirus pandemic (Streimikiene & Korneeva, 2020). The answer about the possibility of choosing domestic tourism does not mean actual readiness to purchase a tour in the near future.…”