1. Why is place marketing even more important to a resort destination than to other
tourism businesses and destinations? Explain how the use of Porter’s cluster theory
can facilitate the development of strong place marketing
Competitiveness in the today’s economy is far much vigorous. While the choice of a
marketing plan by marketers has become a very important procedure in the world of business,
the choice of a marketing plan that favors your business matters. According to (Vuignier,
2017), place marketing is a marketing strategy that endeavors in promoting a particular place
by branding it as a desirable location to work, play and live. This strategy achieves this by
emphasizing the benefits of living in that community, the different sources of attractions
available, and the thriving and upcoming industries around that area. Resort destination on
the other hand is a developed area where tourism is the major element of the local culture and
economy (Ahn & Thomas, 2020). Therefore, a place marketing strategy plays an important
role in resort destinations since the main focus will be on the culture and the economy of that
specific place.
Developing a place marketing plan can be confusing if a marketer does not have a
plan of doing it. Porter's theory is very beneficial to this as it outlines the competitive
advantage of clusters, cluster initiative, cluster location, and geography and trade (Bel, 2018).
The first step in the development of a place marketing plan is to set the marketing goals. The
concept of low cost and differentiation is applied in the competitive advantage of clusters.
Once the two are combined with the objectives of the firm, three generic strategies of
attaining standard performance in an industry are realized. They include cost leadership,
differentiation, and focus. Incorporation of these three will help the industry to be a low-cost
producer, unique, and have its focus on ways of having a narrow competitive scope within its
industry.
The next step is conducting a market audit, market research, and analyzing the
research. The cluster incorporates an array of linked industries and other units important to
competition (Bel, 2018). A cluster initiative includes suppliers of specific inputs such as
modules, services, and specific infrastructure. An in-depth analysis of the market will be
aimed at improving human capital, supporting cluster growth, ensuring business
development, commercial operation, innovation and technology and improvement of the
business environment. Considering all these in the market analysis part will go a long way in
the development of a market plan.
The third consideration in Porter's theory is the cluster location and geography and
trade. He argues that cost minimization will make it possible to determine a location (Bel,
, 2018). Putting into consideration labor costs, raw materials and transport costs, it becomes
much easier in identifying a target audience. The best target audiences will be competitive
and cooperative. A place marketing plan will put into consideration the geography of the
location of the business to ensure that the social glues within that location are beneficial to
the growth of the business. Once everything has been put into consideration, a budget is
determined, marketing strategies developed and an implementation schedule developed.
To sum up, the choice and the development of a marketing plan by a marketer matter
and the inclusion of Porter's Cluster theory will aid in the planning. This will help in
understanding the competitive advantage of the cluster, market auditing as well as finding a
suitable location and geography for the business.
2. Explain what is meant by ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ controls within Visitor Impact
Management (VIM) systems, and illustrate their effectiveness or otherwise at a resort
of your choice.
The rise of visitors’ movements to resorts and other protected tourist attractive sites
has facilitated the need for Visitors Impact Management (VIM). According to Albrech
(2021), VIM is a tool used in monitoring the impacts and behaviors of visitors in specific
locations they are visiting. According to Dowling and Newsome (2017), managing the flow
of visitors does not only contribute to the growth of effective tourism but also enhances
quality visitors' experience during their trip. Through effective management, managers can
detect the indicators that will facilitate achieving the desired outcomes. Also, this will
contribute to maximizing the positive opportunities for community members in that specific
location as well as minimize the negative impacts. Some of the negative impacts may include
wildlife disturbance, trail erosion, water pollution and conflicts among visitors (Albrech,
2021). VIM is divided into two categories-hard and soft- control approaches, to facilitate
effective controlling of visitors' number as well as their impact on their destination. Through
the combination of the two approaches, visitors are allowed to enjoy a quality experience
with controlled access.
Hard control within VIM involves formulating rules and regulations to be followed by
the visitors. This is associated with physical and sometimes financial restrictions to control
the number of visitors accessing a certain site per carrying capacity. This entails setting a
minimum number to access a site to reduce overexploitation of the available resources. Also
fixing entrance fees will minimize viewing times for various destinations (Kebete &
Wondirad, 2019). The Tropical Beach Resort in Sarasota Florida offers the best experience
for its customers. To ensure that there is no crowding at the resort, they have come up with
tourism businesses and destinations? Explain how the use of Porter’s cluster theory
can facilitate the development of strong place marketing
Competitiveness in the today’s economy is far much vigorous. While the choice of a
marketing plan by marketers has become a very important procedure in the world of business,
the choice of a marketing plan that favors your business matters. According to (Vuignier,
2017), place marketing is a marketing strategy that endeavors in promoting a particular place
by branding it as a desirable location to work, play and live. This strategy achieves this by
emphasizing the benefits of living in that community, the different sources of attractions
available, and the thriving and upcoming industries around that area. Resort destination on
the other hand is a developed area where tourism is the major element of the local culture and
economy (Ahn & Thomas, 2020). Therefore, a place marketing strategy plays an important
role in resort destinations since the main focus will be on the culture and the economy of that
specific place.
Developing a place marketing plan can be confusing if a marketer does not have a
plan of doing it. Porter's theory is very beneficial to this as it outlines the competitive
advantage of clusters, cluster initiative, cluster location, and geography and trade (Bel, 2018).
The first step in the development of a place marketing plan is to set the marketing goals. The
concept of low cost and differentiation is applied in the competitive advantage of clusters.
Once the two are combined with the objectives of the firm, three generic strategies of
attaining standard performance in an industry are realized. They include cost leadership,
differentiation, and focus. Incorporation of these three will help the industry to be a low-cost
producer, unique, and have its focus on ways of having a narrow competitive scope within its
industry.
The next step is conducting a market audit, market research, and analyzing the
research. The cluster incorporates an array of linked industries and other units important to
competition (Bel, 2018). A cluster initiative includes suppliers of specific inputs such as
modules, services, and specific infrastructure. An in-depth analysis of the market will be
aimed at improving human capital, supporting cluster growth, ensuring business
development, commercial operation, innovation and technology and improvement of the
business environment. Considering all these in the market analysis part will go a long way in
the development of a market plan.
The third consideration in Porter's theory is the cluster location and geography and
trade. He argues that cost minimization will make it possible to determine a location (Bel,
, 2018). Putting into consideration labor costs, raw materials and transport costs, it becomes
much easier in identifying a target audience. The best target audiences will be competitive
and cooperative. A place marketing plan will put into consideration the geography of the
location of the business to ensure that the social glues within that location are beneficial to
the growth of the business. Once everything has been put into consideration, a budget is
determined, marketing strategies developed and an implementation schedule developed.
To sum up, the choice and the development of a marketing plan by a marketer matter
and the inclusion of Porter's Cluster theory will aid in the planning. This will help in
understanding the competitive advantage of the cluster, market auditing as well as finding a
suitable location and geography for the business.
2. Explain what is meant by ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ controls within Visitor Impact
Management (VIM) systems, and illustrate their effectiveness or otherwise at a resort
of your choice.
The rise of visitors’ movements to resorts and other protected tourist attractive sites
has facilitated the need for Visitors Impact Management (VIM). According to Albrech
(2021), VIM is a tool used in monitoring the impacts and behaviors of visitors in specific
locations they are visiting. According to Dowling and Newsome (2017), managing the flow
of visitors does not only contribute to the growth of effective tourism but also enhances
quality visitors' experience during their trip. Through effective management, managers can
detect the indicators that will facilitate achieving the desired outcomes. Also, this will
contribute to maximizing the positive opportunities for community members in that specific
location as well as minimize the negative impacts. Some of the negative impacts may include
wildlife disturbance, trail erosion, water pollution and conflicts among visitors (Albrech,
2021). VIM is divided into two categories-hard and soft- control approaches, to facilitate
effective controlling of visitors' number as well as their impact on their destination. Through
the combination of the two approaches, visitors are allowed to enjoy a quality experience
with controlled access.
Hard control within VIM involves formulating rules and regulations to be followed by
the visitors. This is associated with physical and sometimes financial restrictions to control
the number of visitors accessing a certain site per carrying capacity. This entails setting a
minimum number to access a site to reduce overexploitation of the available resources. Also
fixing entrance fees will minimize viewing times for various destinations (Kebete &
Wondirad, 2019). The Tropical Beach Resort in Sarasota Florida offers the best experience
for its customers. To ensure that there is no crowding at the resort, they have come up with
