Digital Tourism: Influence of E-Marketing Technology

Introduction

Tourism is an activity of immense socio-cultural and economic phenomenon, as it facilitates economic growth and regional development. The advancements in the communication process, technology and transportation facilities, progress in the educational standards, changes in public lifestyle and spending habits, and increased stress in life make people have more empathy towards tourism. Tourism is a dynamic source of income to the economy as it complements a country’s Forex reserves. A significant development in the tourism sector boosts the economy of a country, and, in return, it improves the infrastructure and creates employment opportunities. Besides good infrastructure, tourism also needs developments in specific areas, such as hotels and roads, efficient telecommunication, banks, health care, and security facilities, which seems promising enough to attract tourists across the world (Katta & Patro, 2019).

In tourism, the primary goal of marketing is to clutch tourists’ attention in a particular destination and further assist them by creating interest in the destination by showing their mythical stories, scenic beauty, or any other cultural aspects. Once the interest is formed, the desire to visit that particular destination is created, and it becomes quite easy to take the tourist to the destination with an appropriate action plan and attractive deals. Thus, tourism’s marketing process begins from encouraging the tourist to visit the destination to perceiving his experience and suggestions after the tour/trip ends. Yasmin, Tasneem, & Fatem (2015) stated that digital marketing includes the elements such as online promotions, e-mail marketing, social media marketing, affiliate marketing, search engine optimisation and pay per click (Mkwizu, 2019).

In today’s competitive environment, marketing is much more important than the production and sale of the product/service. Despite much potential and possibilities, lack of attention towards tourism marketing and mode of promoting the packages, the tourism sector is not achieving considerable progress (Lamsoo, Niroomand, & Rafsanjani, 2013). An extensive range of media is available for promoting the tour packages which includes print media such as newspapers, magazines, banners, etc., and electronic media including radio, television, and the Internet (digital marketing). Information Technology (IT) has made the marketing of products/services easier and cheaper, where a person from anywhere in the world can check the tourist’s destinations.

The expectations of the public are rising day by day. These new aspirations are the driving force behind the transformation of public service delivery, primarily in high-impact areas, such as health, education and social benefits. The Internet made convenient for certain services like travel bookings, food orders with mobile apps, comparison among these services, and government services have become inevitable. People expect more awareness, agility, and responsibility from government services. The digital revolution in governance and public service delivery with the improved information and communications technology (ICT) is increasing the productivity and efficiency of the tourism sector. It is enhancing digital customer experience and also promoting connectedness with users (ASSOCHAM-PwC, 2017).

The rapid growth of the Internet, technological infrastructure and the social network have redefined the rubrics of marketing worldwide. The economic globalisation and privatisation have increased the competition in every sphere of life. In the digital era, the marketing of products and services have also been more important to the service providers (Sharma & Hazarika, 2017). Before the launch of a product, it is necessary to determine its marketing and promotional strategies. At present, digital marketing has become the key focus area for the tourism sector all over the world. From convenient booking engines to creating customised experiences, e-marketing has helped the tourism sector reach out to a wider audience, which was not possible with traditional marketing. People can easily access the required information of the tourism services such as accommodation, travel, food and activities, among others, by connecting to the Internet through desktops, laptops, mobiles and other devices. Tourism is one such affected segment with digital development. The travel and accommodation segment use digital marketing systems to engage the public and make sure their customers have the best possible retreats (Yolodigital, 2019). Therefore, digital marketing is the unsurpassed means to influence a large audience faster and at a lesser cost.

The chapter’s objectives are to examine the digital tourism practices and e-marketing strategies adopted globally as well as in the Indian context. The specific objectives are: