Tourism Marketing

ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY
School of Graduate Studies
College of Commerce
Department of Marketing Management
A Study on Marketing Strategy to Enhance Sustainable Tourism Development in Bahir Dar and its Environs
By: Aschalew Adane
ID No: GSR/0641/04
Advisor: Getie Andualem (PHD)

Thesis Submitted To The School Of Graduate Studies Of Addis Ababa University In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements For The Award Of Degree Of Master of Arts In marketing management
May, 2013
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY
School of Graduate Studies
College of commerce
Department of marketing management
A Study on marketing strategy to enhance sustainable tourism development in Bahir dar and its environs
By: Aschalew Adane
ID No: GSR/0641/04
Approval of Board of Examiners
Name Signature Date
_______________ ___________ ____________
Chairman, institute
Graduate committee
Getie Andualem (PHD) _______________ ____________
Advisor
_________________ _____________ _____________
Examiner
CERTIFICATE OF DECLARATION BY THE RESEARCHER
I, the undersigned, declare that this thesis entitled, “marketing strategy to enhance sustainable tourism development in Bahir dar and its environs” is my original work that has not been conducted or presented in any other educational institutes- Universities. To finish this thesis, the researcher used different materials and all sources of material used for the thesis have been duly acknowledged by him.
Name: Aschalew Adane
ID No: GSR/0641/04
Signature: _____________
Date: ______________
This thesis has been submitted for examination with my approval as University advisor.
Name: Getie Andualem Advisor.
Signature: ________________________
Date: _____________________
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am very much indebted to my advisor Dr. Getie Andualem for his continues and regular support and follow up in conducting this thesis in addition to giving text books about tourism marketing that helped me to explore more about the issue. I would like to thank my friend, Yetnayet Getu, a lecturer in tourism at Bahir Dar University who helped me by providing all the necessary materials related to the title of the study. My deep thanks also goes to Tegegne, Gojam Tamene who made the copies of the questionnaire without a penny It gives me a great pleasure to take this special opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to Ato Tilahun of Amhara National Regional State Bureau of Culture, Tourism and Parks Development, Souvenir sellers in and around Bahir Dar, Hotel managers and travel agents in Bahir Dar, for their kindly cooperation in providing different information regarding the topics of this research. My classmates especially Belay Adissu (Marshal), Temesgen Yitbarek (Laligaw), Yibeltal Aschale (Barney), Gedamnesh Tesfaye (Dh), Meaza Getinet (woloye), Guday Abeje, and Leake Legesse (Tekeste) and the rest of my friends, I have no words to express my gratitude, respect and admiration for the person you are, and for the true friendship you showed me during these past years in my stay in Addis Ababa. Brhanu (dokle), woldebrehan (sobra), my neighbors, thank you for everything you did for me.
Finally, I am very thankful to my entire family member for their love, continuous support and hospitality throughout the years, especially, my mother, Felekech Andualem, my father Adane Brhanu and my elder brother Endeshaw Adane without them I would not be where I am today. After all, The Almighty God arranged all of this.
Table of Contents
Contents Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………………………………………………………I
LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………………II
LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………………..III
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS…………………………………………………………….IV
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………….V
TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION11.1Background of The Study……………………………………………………………………1
1.2 Statement of The Problem31.3 Research Questions………………………………………………………………………… 5
1.4 Objectives of The Study51.5 Significance of The Study61.6 Scope /Delimitation Of The Study61.7 Limitation of the Study……………………………………………………………………….6
1.8 Organization of The Paper…………………………………………………………………..7
1.9 Operational definition of key terms……………………………………………………….7
1.10 Research ethics …………………………………………………………………………….7
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Marketing Strategy for Tourism,…………………………………………………… ………8
2.2 Marketing…….…………………………………………………………………… ……….4
2.3 Marketing Mix…………………………………………………………………… ………..4
2.4 Services marketing dimensions for the tourism sector……………………………………
2.5 Destination Marketing……………………………………………………………………..
2.6 Characteristics of Service Marketing………………………………………………………
2.7 Tourism and Sustainable Tourism…………………………………………………………
2.13 Bahir Dar and Its Tourist Destination …………………………………………………..
CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH DESIGN& METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design3.5 Sampling Frame and techniques3.6 Sources of Data3.7 Data collection thechniques3.8 Method of Data AnalysisCHAPTER FOUR DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents……………………………………………4.2 Marketing Strategy for STD4.3 analysis of interview……………………………………………………………………………….
CHAPTER- FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..
5.2 Recommendations…………………………………………………………………………………… ReferencesAPPENDIXES
Appendix 1: Questionnaire
Appendix 2: Interview
Appendix 3: Amharic Version of Questionnaire for domestic tourists
LIST OF TABLES Page
Table 4.1.1 Gender and age of travel agents and souvenir sellers ………………………………
Table 4.1.2 Current education level of respondents- souvenir owners……………………….
Table 4.1.3 Monthly income category of respondents in birr……………………………..
Table 4.1.4 how long have you been doing this business? Experience In year…………….
Table 4.1.5 characteristic of tourists by gender and age……………………………….
Table 4.1.6 Current education level of respondents……………………………….
Table 4.1.7 marital status and Travel party composition of respondents……………………..
Table 4.1.8 Current occupation of respondents………………………………………………..
Table 4.1.9 Country of origin/ nationality of respondents…………………………………….
Table 4.1.10 tourists average periods of stay in Bahir Dar………………………………
Table 4.1.11 purpose of trip ……………………………………………………………………
Table 4.2.1 from where do you bring your souvenir products?....................................................Table 4.2.2 Do you have souvenirs imported from foreign countries? ………………………
Table 4.2.3 Based on source area, which souvenirs are being sold frequently? …………….
Table 4.2.4 Based on type of material used to make souvenirs, which are being sold frequently?
Table 4.2.5 how do you set the price of your product- your pricing strategy? ……………..
Table 4.2.6 Is there a special activity that you will do to increase your sales volume of souvenirs during festivals? …………………………………………………………………………
Table 4.2.7 Are your markets accessible and safe for tourists?
Table 4.2.8 Does souvenir product fit tourists’ taste?
Table 4.2.9 what products and services complement local attractions and appeal to the types of visitors that come to the community?
Table 4.2.10Are there tourists looking for products that are not offered locally?
Table 4.2.11 tourism business practice by travel agents
Table 4.2.12Tourism products and services’ price
Table 4.2.13 Tourism promotion
Table 4.2.14 Distribution in tourism
Table 4.2.15 the Over All Tourists’ Satisfaction toward Tourism Business in the Destination Area
LIST OF FIGURES Page
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of the Study…………………………………………………..
Figure 5: Debre Mariam monastery…………………...
Figure 6: Lake Tana……………………………………………………………
Figure 8: The Past and Present status of water volume at Tis Abay Water Falls Figure 1o: The 1st five star hotel in Bahir dar, under construction and swimming pool of papyrus hotel ………………..
Figure 12: Souvenir Shops ………………………………
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
ANRSCTPDB Amhara National Regional State Culture Tourism and Parks
Development Bureau
LDCs Less Developed Country
STD Sustainable Tourism Development
STP Segmenting Targeting and Positioning
TESFA: Tourism in Ethiopia for Sastianable Future Alternatives
TIC Tourist Information Center
UNESCO United Nation Education, Scientific and Culture Organization
UNWTO United Nations World Tourism Organization
VFR Visiting Friends and Relatives
WOM Word of Mouth communication s
ABSTRACT
The main objective of this study is to assess and explore marketing strategy to enhance sustainable tourism development in Bahir dar and its environs. To achieve this objective, questionnaire, interview and observation as instrument, were employed with a purposive and convenience sampling method. In this study, data were collected from one hundred sixty six, fifty domestic and one hundred international tourists, eight souvenir sellers, eight travel agents with questionnaire, three hotel managers, and one expert from ANRSCTPDB located in and around Bahir Dar, are interviewed and the collected data were analyzed by simple descriptive statistics measures (frequencies, percentages and mean). Findings, conclusion and recommendation have been forwarded after analyzing the data. It has been said that there are a lot of natural, historical, cultural and man-made tourists attractions in Bahir Dar and its environs but not registered under UNESCO, now a day there is an initiation to do that, and effective marketing strategy needs to be implemented by all the stake holders of the industry. Hoteliers, souvenir sellers, travel and tour operators and tourism offices in the city are the major participants in tourism industry. All of them need to have a sound marketing strategy toward their products and services, its price, the promotion mix and their distribution strategy that has a great impact on tourists satisfaction, period of stay, positive image, word of mouth communication etc that will help the destination to have a continuous tourists flow and to be benefited from this.
Key words: marketing strategy- (product, price, promotion, distribution, people, physical evidence and process) tourism stake holders, indicators of Sustainable Tourism,
CHAPTER ONE- INTRODUCTION
This part of the study will deals with background of the study, statement of the problem, research questions, objectives of the study, significance of the study and limitation of the study.
Background of The Study
Kotler and Keller confirmed that all marketing strategies start with Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (Kotler and Keller 2006). Marketing strategy is the marketing logic by which the business unit hopes to achieve its marketing objectives. It shows how strategies for target markets and positioning build upon the firm 's differential advantages. (Kotler et al 1999)
Marketing strategy determines the choice of target market segments, positioning, marketing mix, and allocation of resources. Marketing strategy encompasses selecting and analyzing the target market(s) and creating and maintaining an appropriate marketing mix that satisfies the target market and company. (Paul Fifield 1994). Nowadays, tourism becomes a highly competitive and market-orientated business. (MA Shu2011)
Tourism marketing (marketing a destination) is much more than just selling a place to potential visitors. It includes the uniqueness (positioning) of what visitors come to see (the product), the relative cost of one place compared to another (the price), the ‘distribution’ or accessibility of the place to potential target markets, and the variety of methods used to inform and attract visitors (the promotional mix). Matching the product, price and place with potential visitors is at the core of tourism marketing. Although advertising and information services are significant and tend to dominate local tourism budgets, their emphasis alone will not necessarily ensure success. (Martin 2002). Too many improvers believe that marketing a place means promoting a place. They view marketing as an image-building exercise, confusing it with one of its sub-activities, namely promotion. Marketing is a strategic process that aims to fit the resources of a destination to the opportunities existing in the market. It is as much about retaining tourists as it is about winning new business. Place marketing means designing a place to satisfy the needs of its target markets. It succeeds when citizens and businesses are pleased with their communities, and it meets the expectations of visitors and investors. (Martin 2002)
The desire to become a recognizable destination presents a marketing challenge (Hessen et al cited from Kotler, et al. 2006). According to Kannan Srinivasan (2009) the marketing mix for any service industry is discussed as 8Ps. These are, Product Elements, Process, Place and Time, Productivity and Quality, Promotion & Education, People, Price & other user costs, and Physical Evidence. In tourism marketing, principal products provided by recreation/tourism businesses are recreational experiences and hospitality, instead of moving product to the customer, the customer must travel to the product (area/community), travel is a significant portion of the time and money spent in association with recreational and tourism experiences, is a major factor in people’s decisions on whether or not to visit your business or community.
Tourism Marketing, being a service product, has to adopt service marketing principles and it can be characterized by its perishability, intangibility, variability (heterogeneity), inseparability (Kannan Srinivasan 2009). According to Butler (1990), people often choose their tourist destination depending on what they have seen at popular audiovisual means, like television and cinema. (Nikolaos et al 2011)
There is no single universally accepted definition of sustainable tourism development (STD). World Tourism Organization define sustainable tourism as “tourism which leads to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems.” They also defined tourism as “the act of visiting a location outside one’s usual environment for less than a year, for any reason other than to be employed” (UNWTO, 2008). Over time, an ever increasing number of destinations have opened up and invested in tourism development, turning modern tourism into a key driver of socio-economic progress through the creation of jobs and enterprises, infrastructure development and the export revenues earned (UNWTO 2011) Tourism is not a single economic activity, it comprises: Travel experience, Accommodations, Food, Beverage services, Shops, Entertainment, Aesthetics and Special events.
In Ethiopia, Tourism can be used to preserve Ethiopia’s cultural and historic wealth, can be utilized for poverty reduction, is an opportunity to revitalize Ethiopia’s image, and has been successful in Ethiopia before (WTO 2006). The question of Ethiopia’s poor international image is blamed not only on international media and NGOs (which are said to play up problems to secure funding for aid and development programmes), but also Ethiopians themselves, who may tend to speak negatively of their Country when travelling abroad. (Mitchell et al 2009)
The Amhara National Regional State is womb of tourist attractions which houses the three most magnificent world heritage sites in Ethiopia; i.e., Simien Mountain National Park, Rock Hewn Churches of Lalibela and Gebbi- Castles of Gondar. On the way to these world heritages sites and elsewhere in the region there are also various historic and natural tourist attraction sites.
Bahir Dar, the capital city of Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia has great natural and cultural tourist attraction, potentials for the development of tourism sector. Natural tourist attraction features of Bahir Dar are Blue Nile River, Blue Nile Falls, Lake Tana, Wanzaye and other mineral and hot springs, its strategic location on route to various historical sites, variety of plant and animal life including bird watching. While cultural features are ancient historical monasteries and churches in and around Lake Tana, Religious festivities, Woiyto Village, a historic Portuguese Bridge near Blue Nile Falls and Bezawit palace. Other attractions are boating and fishing in Lake Tana and Blue Nile River. (Getinet 2005)
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Nowadays the competition among tourist destination is fierce due to the increasing international tourism. Each destination has an image, and some can have a stronger image than others. In order to develop a competitive position, it is important to create and transmit a favorable image to potential tourists in target markets (Marino undated). Tour operators are not effectively marketing Ethiopia. Over 50% of visitors obtained information about Ethiopia either from friends or the internet; in other words their own efforts. The lack of marketing and promotional strategies calls for a more focused country branding strategy and a set of targeted tourism products (World Bank 2006). According to the research conducted on STD in LDCs’ ( less developed countries) there is a Significant linkages exist between tourism in LDCs’ and poverty alleviation as well as economic development but there are a need of crafting and implementing a salient marketing strategies that comprises all components of marketing because tourism is not a single activity, but an agglomeration of many separate and related activities that include transport, accommodation, food and beverage services, cultural entertainment, conventions and trade fairs, sports and recreation.
Strong destination-marketing campaigns are vital for any nation with tourist destination to be visited and that is the main problem of LDCs including Ethiopia. For many people around the world, mentioning Ethiopia brings to mind its devastating 1984 famine. The specter of the disaster haunts the country 's international image and still hurts the growth of its fledgling tourism industry. (Jenny Barchfield 2011)
Though Bahir Dar is endowed with many tourism resources, which are discussed above, the number of visitors who visit Bahir Dar’s destination is very low compared to Lalibela and Gondar in the same region, and the overall development of tourism sector including its economic, socio-cultural, and environmental contribution is very low. It is supported by ANRS report, in 2005, Lalibela was visited by 71,361 local and 18,320 foreign tourists which is more than double compared to the number of tourists who visited Bahir dar and its environs which is 14,743 and 9,243 respectively. In addition, Gondar is visited by tourists which are more than Bahir dar’s figure with 32,516 and 12,289 respectively. (ANRS, undated)
As per prior researches, it has been said that, economical, environmental and Socio- cultural problems are affecting the sustainable development of Bahir Dar’s tourism industry and its positive contributions to the local community, but as the researcher believed, lack of effective marketing strategy to promote its tourists attraction that is challenging because of tourists’ negative perceptions toward Ethiopia in general are the main problems. But it doesn’t be denied that host-guest relationship, acculturations, an increasing sex-tourism industry, dependability on natural attractions that needs significant conservation, political stability, security, health and hygiene as well as environmental and management, are also vital that have their own impact. According to Walle, reasons behind the sector’s poor performance have not been studied in a comprehensive way. (Walle 2010)
Because of the above mentioned problems, the tourism sector in Bahir Dar is not exploiting the ample tourism resources available in the area and it is not economically, environmentally and socio-culturally contributing to the development of local and national economy as it is expected.
Thus, conducting this study is rational with an aim to find out the effective marketing strategy to sell Bahir Dar’s destination effectively, change people’s negative attitude toward Ethiopia, promote tourist destinations and enhance sustainable tourism development. And World Bank 2006 report confirmed that Ethiopia has to conduct a more realistic and sophisticatedly marketing strategy abroad, in order to change its image among potential tourists as well as the general public in Western countries. Nowadays, marketing strategies are lacking and private investments aimed to improve Ethiopia’s image are rare. (World Bank 2006)
1.3 Research Questions
The leading question of this research is “what are those effective marketing strategy to enhance sustainable tourism development in Bahir dar and its environs?”
These are sub question to be answered at the end of this thesis;
How tourists are segmented to offer specific marketing mix- product, price, promotion and distribution for each segment?
How to increase the involvement of Bahir dar tourism stake holders- hoteliers, travel agents, souvenir sellers etc to increase tourists satisfaction and to enhance STD?
What is the position of Bahir dar’s attraction in the mind of tourists?
How can we promote Bahir dar’s tourist destinations?
How to eliminate the previous negative images of the region/country from the tourists’ mind?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
This research has both general and specific objectives.
1.4.1General Objective
The general objective of the study is to assess and explore the marketing strategy to enhance sustainable tourism development in Bahir dar and its environs.
1.4.2 Specific Objectives
This study has the following specific objectives to be attained at the end:
To identify effective/ strong destination-marketing campaigns to promote tourism in Bahir dar and its environs and establish a strong position in the mind of tourists.
To identify the base for segmenting tourists who visit Bahir Dar that helps to design specific marketing mix for each segments
To describe the existing tourists attractions’ current situation
To describe the role of tourism stakeholders to enhance STD in Bahir dar and its environs
To show an alternative way of sustaining tourism in Bahir dar
To pin point strategies to lengthen period of tourists’ stay in Bahir dar- destination areas.
To explore alternative ways to eliminate the previous negative images of the region/country
1.5 Significance of the Study
This research will contribute a lot in helping policy makers and other stakeholders to outline marketing policies and strategies towards the development of a sustainable tourism industry in Bahir dar. In addition to that, identification of the key issues and challenges confronting the development of the sector, identification of good practices to maintain and problems to be solved are also another importance of this thesis. It can be a source for interested researchers to undertake further investigation in this area. If it is implemented by those stake holders of the industry, it will help them to increase tourists flow, tourists’ period of stay, make them to engage in positive word of mouth communication etc. it will help hoteliers to increase the quality of the services delivery, add additional package for tourists.
1.6 Scope of the study
This research work limited itself on tourist destinations of city of Bahir Dar and its environ, that includes, Monastery of Lake Tana and Tis Abay District. Those people who are directly or indirectly engaged in the tourism industry of Bahir Dar city and its environs are contacted and asked about the issue under study. Tourists –domestic and international, hoteliers, travel agents and tour operators, souvenir sellers and ANRSCTPDB expert were those who are involved in this thesis. Because of different problems, time, cost, etc, the researcher did not involved all stake holders of tourism.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
Not any research is conducted in vacuum, it confronted with so many types of problems that may affect the result of the study. The same is true in case of this research work. The main limitation of this study is that since tourism in Bahir dar mainly in the region is seasonal, the data has been collected in April 2013 without taking, the flow history of tourists, in to account. Because each month of the year has its own peculiar history regarding to the out and inflow of tourists, to the destination, related to the peak and off season of visit. In order to get reliable information, data should be collected both in peak and off season. Even if that was the case, the researcher tried to reduce its impact through triangulating data from different stakeholders.
The unavailability of well documented data about tourists’ numbers-flows, their comments before and after visit, etc in tourists’ offices were taken as one and very important limitation. It is supported by World Bank 2006, “unfortunately there is no data to inform what proportion of the international tourists to Lalibela visit only Lalibela or take in more destinations on the historic route. The season of the year in which the researcher collected data from respondents- tourists were not the pick period were tourists come to visit Bahir dar and it was difficult to search tourists, if it were in January, it would be very easy for the researcher to distribute questionnaire. In addition to that, since it is a non probability sampling techniques, personal judgment and convenience of the researcher, there may be problem of bias on the data and on its collection so that generalization may not be in effect.
1.8 Organization of the Paper
This paper is organized into five chapters.
In chapter one; background of the study, statement of the problem, research questions, objectives of the, significance of the study, limitation and delimitation of the study are presented. In chapter two, literature from different sources about the title has been reviewed and discussed briefly.
The third chapter present, and draws the methodological process of sampling, data collection and analysis. Chapter four deals with detailed analysis and discussion of data collected form samples of the study- souvenir sellers, travel agents and tour operators, tourists, hotel managers and ANRSCTPDB expert.
Finally, chapter five discloses summary, conclusion, and recommendations which are derived from the analyzed data in chapter four.
1.9 Operational definition of key terms
Marketing strategy- a comprehensive plan used to guide how to sell attractions, what price to be set for each attraction and how to promote tourists cites.
Tourism marketing (marketing a destination) - is much more than just selling a place to potential visitors. It includes the uniqueness (positioning) of what visitors come to see (the product), the relative cost of one place compared to another (the price), the ‘distribution’ or accessibility of the place to potential target markets, and the variety of methods used to inform and attract visitors (the promotional mix) (Martin 2012).
Tourism- Tourism is a composite industry. It consists of various segments which can produce a wide range of products and service.
Tourists- Tourists are voluntary temporary travelers, traveling in the expectation of pleasure from the novelty and change experienced on a relatively and non-recurrent round trip, does not include persons coming to establish residence, which passes through a country without stopping. (S.M Jha)
Sustainable tourism development-
1.10 Research ethics
Like any other profession, research has its own ethics to be followed by the researchers and the same is true in case of this thesis. The data which are gathered from respondents is only used for this research purpose and confidential. In addition to this, respondents’ opinion toward the issue under study has been respected.
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Marketing Strategy for Tourism
Marketing strategy is the marketing logic by which the business unit hopes to achieve its marketing objectives. It shows how strategies for target markets and positioning build upon the firm 's differential advantages (Kotler et al 1999). Kotler and Keller confirmed that all marketing strategies start with Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. (Kotler and Keller 2006)
2.1.1 Segmentation
The process of dividing a market into groups of buyers with different needs, characteristics or behavior, who might require separate products or marketing mixes, is market segmentation (Kotler et al 1999). The current categories of “purpose of visit” established by UNWTO and measured throughout the developing world on arrival declaration cards are holidays, business, visiting friends and relatives, education, religion, sports and transit through one country to another. Each of these categories of visitor has different characteristics related to their demographics, behavior, spending, expectations and length of stay in the country visited (World Bank, 2006). According to Travel Life Cycle theory, tourists can be segmented as: family trip, school excursion trip, language study trip, graduation trip, overseas wedding trip, honeymoon trip, in-company trip, and Silver trip (MA Shu 2011).
2.1.2 Market Targeting
It is the process of evaluating each market segment 's attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter (Kotler et al 1999). Target marketing is the attempt to attract specified market segments that are believed to provide particular advantages for a product or destination. (David Weaver2006: Pp 204) 2.1.3 Positioning
A product 's position is the place the product occupies in consumers ' minds. Market positioning gives a product a clear, distinctive and desirable place in the minds of target consumers compared with competing products. Marketing strategy determines the choice of target market segments, positioning, marketing mix, and allocation of resources. Marketing strategy encompasses selecting and analyzing the target market(s) and creating and maintaining an appropriate marketing mix that satisfies the target market and company. (Paul Fifield 1994).
Marketing strategy serves as the fundamental underpinning of a marketing plan which is designed to reach marketing objectives. (A publication of the Center for Ecotourism and Sustainable Development -undated)
Ethiopia has to conduct a more realistic and sophisticatedly marketing strategy abroad, in order to change its image among potential tourists as well as the general public in Western countries.
Nowadays, marketing strategies are lacking and private investments aimed to improve Ethiopia’s image are rare. What comes first from a national perspective, improving the image or improving tourism products and services? The World Bank (World Bank 2006:3) questions if this poor image could be changed by marketing strategies or private investments. “Besides the historic route, there isn’t a marketing strategy for other routes, tours, attractions or destinations in Ethiopia.”
2.2 Marketing
Marketing is a strategic process that aims to fit the resources of a destination to the opportunities existing in the market. It is as much about retaining tourists as it is about winning new business. Place marketing means designing a place to satisfy the needs of its target markets. It succeeds when citizens and businesses are pleased with their communities, and it meets the expectations of visitors and investors (Martin 2002). Marketing involves satisfying consumers ' needs and wants (Kotler and Keller 2006). Marketing means selling your products and services at the right price, with the right promotion, to the right people, at the right location.... at a profit’. (Tourism Marketing Guide 2006)
2.3 Marketing Mix
Kotler et al define marketing mix as the set of controllable tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. The marketing mix consists of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product. The many possibilities gather into four groups of variables known as the 'four Ps '; product, price, place and promotion. (Kotler et al 1999)
2.3.1 Product and service and tourism marketing
In tourism, a product is a complex experience crated and delivered by a diverse, but interrelated, range of suppliers, usually in fragmented industry often characterized by a preponderance of small and medium size business (UNWTO & ETC 2007). The end product, or perhaps more accurately “experience”, that is assembled for sale consists of: The tourist asset; The services of the transportation sector to deliver the tourist from the country of origin to the country of destination; Hotels and other tourist accommodation; Tour operators and ground handlers; The services and activities of those who provide equipment to enjoy the asset such as donkey rides, those who help the tourist to better understand his/her surroundings, e.g., museum guides, and those who provide entertainment for the tourist through music and dance, festivals, etc.; Food and beverage suppliers; The services of other suppliers of goods and services, such as banking facilities, emergency health care, handicrafts and duty-free shopping; Transport for internal transfers (such as taxis) Internet services which are pervasive in most of these areas ( World Bank 2006). Product in Tourism is basically the experience and hospitality provided by the service provider. In general the experience has to be expressed in such a way that the tourists see a value in them (Nikolaos et al 2011).
Place- distribution in tourism
In marketing, ‘place’ means the channels through witch your customer; gets information, buys the product, and enjoy the product. The huge increase in international travel and tourism has led to people buying relatively expensive products at some distance from the point of consumption. Travel agents, tour operators, NTOs, and a host of other intermediaries operate between the customers and the suppliers (UNWTO & ETC 2007). To reach these markets you may use the services of agents, or intermediaries to act on your behalf and take bookings (Tourism Marketing Guide 2006). Place and Time – Location and Accessibility- The place and time in tourism is providing directions and maps, providing estimates of travel time and distances from different market areas, recommending direct and scenic travel routes, identifying attractions and support facilities along different travel routes, and informing potential customers of alternative travel methods to the area such as airlines and railroads. Product in Tourism is basically the experience and hospitality provided by the service provider. In general the experience has to be expressed in such a way that the tourists see a value in them. Productivity and Quality- This is similar to other service industries. The quality is assessed by time taken for a service, the promptness of the service, reliability and so on. (Nikolaos et al 2011)
2.3.3 Price of tourism products and services
Market forces generally determine the level at which tourism product prices are pitched. (UNWTO & ETC 2007) In the context of marketing, however, varying the cost of your product can be used as a sales promotion tool. You can consider various sales tools such as discounting; cash back vouchers and give-away. (Tourism Marketing Guide 2006) Price and other user costs, the price of the tourism services depend on business and target market objectives, cost of producing, delivering and promoting the product, willingness of the target, prices charged by competitors offering similar product/service to the same target markets, availability and prices of substitute products/services, and economic climate. (Nikolaos et al 2011)
2.3.4 Promotion mix in tourism
Promotion is about getting the right message to the right segment at the right time, cost effectively. The level of knowledge that segments have about the destination is important in designing the promotion message. (UNWTO & ETC 2007) In determining the most effective way of communicating your message to your target market, consider your customer profile - what do your potential customers read? Where do they go? Who influences them? etc. (Tourism Marketing Guide 2006) Promotion and Education- Like other services, the promotion should address, the accurate and timely information helping to decide whether to visit target audience, the image to be created for the organization, objectives, budget, timing of campaign, media to be selected, and evaluation methods (Nikolaos et al 2011).
2.3.5 People in tourism
People are the centre for Tourism. It is more a human intensive sector. For hospitality and guest relations it is very important to focus on people. It also plays a vital role in quality control, personal selling, and employee morale. (Nikolaos et al 2011) People are all human actors who play part in the service delivery provide clues to the customer and influence the quality of the service. (Center for Ecotourism and Sustainable Development)
2.3.6 Physical Evidence-
Physical evidence is the environment in which the service is delivered and where the firm and the customer interact, and any tangible commodities that facilitate performance or communication of the service. (Center for Ecotourism and Sustainable Development) In Tourism the physical evidence is basically depends on travel experience, stay, and comfort. Here, the core product is bed in case of stay. (Nikolaos et al 2011)
2.3.7 Process in tourism
The process in Tourism include, (a) trip planning and anticipation, (b) travel to the site/area, (c) recollection, (d) trip planning packages. The trip planning packages include, maps, attractions en route and on site, information regarding lodging, food, quality souvenirs and mementoes. (Nikolaos et al 2011) Process refers to the actual procedures, mechanisms, and flow of activities by which the service is delivered – the service delivery and operating systems. (Center for Ecotourism and Sustainable Development)
2.5 Destination Marketing and tourism
Tourism marketing (marketing a destination) is much more than just selling a place to potential visitors. It includes the uniqueness (positioning) of what visitors come to see (the product), the relative cost of one place compared to another (the price), the ‘distribution’ or accessibility of the place to potential target markets, and the variety of methods used to inform and attract visitors (the promotional mix).
Place marketing means designing a place to satisfy the needs of its target markets. It succeeds when citizens and businesses are pleased with their communities, and it meets the expectations of visitors and investors. Place marketing succeeds when stakeholders such as citizens, workers, and business firms derive satisfaction from their community, and when visitors, new businesses, and investors find their expectations met. (Martin 2012)
2.5.1 Major Actors in Place Or Destination Marketing
Local Actors like, Tourist bureau, Infrastructure managers. Private Sector Actors like, Hospitality and retail industries, Tour packagers and travel agencies. Regional Actors like, Regional tourist boards. International Actors like, Embassies and consulates, International chambers of commerce. National Actors like, Political head of government. (Martin 2012)
Tour operators-Tour operators are reliant on the quality and safety of the destination, they also play a significant role in shaping the way the destination is perceived by the way that they market the location. (Harold Goodwin et al 2004.) Tour operators are not effectively marketing Ethiopia. (Jonathan Mitchell and Christopher Coles, 2009)
2.6 Characteristics of Service Marketing
A service is any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product. (Kotler and Keller 2006) Different scholars identified four common characteristics of service intangibility, inseparability, variability, and perishability.
Intangibility
It cannot be touched or viewed, (Nikolaos et al 2011) Unlike physical products, services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard, or smelled before they are bought. (Kotler and Keller 2006) Even though many services include tangible aspects such as an airline seat, a classroom, a restaurant table and food the service performance leading to a customer’s experience is intangible. (Gilmore, 2003)
Inseparability
According to Lovelock, it is inseparability of Production and consumption, (Nikolaos et al 2011)
Services are typically produced and consumed simultaneously. (Kotler and Keller 2006) Because services are processes, deeds or acts, customers are involved in the production of a service. (Gilmore, 2003)
Perishibility,
As per Lovelock it is the situation in which unused capacity cannot be stored for future use, similarly Kotler and Keller defined that Services cannot be stored. Perishability is not a problem when demand is steady. When demand fluctuates, service firms have problems.
Heterogeneity (Variability).
Services involve people, and people are all different. Lovelock
Because services depend on who provides them and when and where they are provided, they are highly variable.
2.7 Purchasing Behaviors of Tourists
Nowadays, tourists are becoming more and more sophisticated. Their expectations regarding the quality and variety of tourism services have increased tremendously. (MA Shu 2011)
Researchers in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska gathered information from more than 1,400 individuals on ways to improve the marketing of products to tourists. They identified four general categories of tourists. People in each tourism category enjoyed similar travel activities and shopping opportunities.
2.7.1 Ethnic, Arts, and People- They actively visit ethnic communities, participate in community festivals, visit art galleries and museums, attend concerts and the theater, and Interact with local residents. Products they buy include crafts, local food products (does not include meals), antiques, and books about the area they are visiting.
2.7.2 History and Park-They devote time to enjoying scenery, contemplating a sense of place, reflecting on the past, and photographing the experience. They visit historic sites and homes, museums, recreated villages that depict a past way of life, gardens, and state and national parks. Products they buy include crafts, postcards, books about the area and its history, local food products, and items to add to their collections.
2.7.3 Active Outdoor- They hike and backpack, camp, fish, sail and boat, hunt, swim, ski, and play tennis or golf. Products they buy include T-shirts and sweatshirts with a name or design related to the location.
2.7.4 Urban Entertainment - Are those who visit cities where they are on the go, day and night. Social interaction is important to these travelers. They buy goods with the name or design representing their vacation location including T-shirts and sweatshirts, souvenir items such as pens, bumper stickers, key chains, and crafts. (Bill Ryan, et al 1999)
2.8 Tourism and Sustainable Tourism
Tourism has become one of the world’s most important sources of employment. It stimulates enormous investment in infrastructure, most of which also helps to improve the living conditions of local people. It provides governments with substantial tax revenues. Most new tourism jobs and business are created in developing countries, helping to equalize economic opportunities and keep rural residents from moving to overcrowded cities. (UNWTO, 2007) Tourism is about creating and selling experiences. These are mostly ‘intangible’, or difficult to capture in words, making it difficult for operators to promote their product as customers can’t generally sample or see the product before they buy. (Tourism Marketing Guide 2006) Tourism is multispectral in nature, and demands the coordination of often conflicting roles and interests: social and environmental issues, security, transportation, education, information technology, environmental management, land planning, and community development. (World Bank, 2006)
2.8.1 Sustainable Tourism
As tourism becomes increasingly important to communities around the world, the need to develop tourism sustainably also becomes a primary concern. Sustainability is important because communities need to support themselves on the basis of available resources. Today there is wide acceptance that sustainability is one of the most important issues faced by the tourism industry. The term ‘sustainable tourism’ usually denotes the application of the more general concept of sustainable development to tourism as a specific economic sector. The sustainable development concept was popularized in the late 1980s with the publication of Our Common Future by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED 1987). According to the Conceptual Definition established by the World Tourism Organization, sustainable tourism must:
● Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development;
● Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to intercultural understanding and tolerance;
● Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, and contributing to poverty alleviation; and
● Maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices.
Sustainable tourism may be regarded most basically as the application of the sustainable development idea to the tourism sector – that is, tourism development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs or tourism that wisely uses and conserves resources in order to maintain their long-term viability. Essentially, sustainable tourism involves the minimization of negative impacts and the maximization of positive impacts.
WTO identified core indicators of sustainable tourism as:
Site protection Category, Social impact, Development control, Waste management, Planning process, Critical ecosystems, Consumer satisfaction, Local satisfaction, Tourism contribution to local economy (David Weaver2006). For sustainable tourism to occur, it must be closely integrated with all other activities that occur in the host region ( Rob Harris, Tony Griffin and Peter Williams undated) Sustainable tourism development in Ethiopia can be a catalyst for positive change in wealth creation, restorative ecology and the war on poverty, support rural communities, education and women’s leadership. (Ethiopia Ecotourism Development Program, Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance 2007) Sustainable tourism strives for financial stability, environmental protection and creating benefits for the local community. In the context of heritage tourism, the goals of sustainability can be integrated into protecting the heritage site, and creating a financially self-sustaining operation. Sustainability in tourism planning has been avidly discussed for over 20 years (Stefanie Jones 2012 cited from Loulanski 2011).
2.8.2 Tourism Contribution / Its Importance to the economy- stake holders
Apart from obvious and visible effects on the economy and the physical environment, tourism can contribute to social and cultural changes in host societies, including changes in value systems, traditional lifestyles, family relationships, individual behavior or community structure.
Tourist—host encounters occur in three main contexts: where the tourist is buying some good or service from the host, where they are in the same place at the same time, and when they meet and share ideas and information (de Kadt 1979). The development of the tourism industry is often credited for generating new employment in the destination (Crandall 1987; Pearce 1989). However, increased tourism and its associated effects (employment and income multiplier) have been identified in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia as major contributors to the economy.( Michele et al, undated) Tourism is an “export” in that it sells goods and services to consumers who reside outside the area. (Bill Ryan, et al, 1999) Economic impact from nature-related tourism is generated in the main by visitor expenditure, although public and voluntary sector employment can be generated or supported without direct visitor expenditure. (Bryden, D.M et al 2010.) A parallel effect is argued with respect to employment, wherein the labor intensive tourism industry would provide a large number of direct and indirect jobs suitable in particular for largely unskilled labor forces bedeviled by high unemployment and underemployment. (Weaver2006) Holden (2000) identified six potential economic benefits for destinations, namely: foreign exchange earnings, reduction of the trade deficit, employment creation, increased monetary flow, strengthening of linkages between economic sectors and diversification of the economy. Economic impact from nature-related tourism is generated in the main by visitor expenditure, although public and voluntary sector employment can be generated or supported without direct visitor expenditure (Bryden, D.M, et al 2010.)
2.8.3 Criticism of tourism- negative impacts of tourism
The tourism industry is often criticized in relation to sustainable tourism. According to Swarbrooke (1999), Often heard accusations are: that the tourism industry is only concerned with short-term profits, rather than with long-term sustainability that the tourism industry is exploiting the environment and local populations rather than conserving them that the tourism industry is increasingly controlled by large, international corporations, who are not interested in the destinations themselves that the tourism industry is not doing enough to raise tourist awareness of sustainability that the tourism industry is only interested in sustainability if it is ‘good marketing’ or ‘good publicity’ for them
Although not a spatial strategy as such, destination governments can facilitate destination sustainability by offering incentives to individuals, companies and organizations for adopting green practices that are not already strictly required (Weaver, 2006). According to Gianna Moscardo 2008, environmental degradation, conflict, cultural challenges, disruptions to daily life and disillusionment happen when tourism development fails to deliver the promised benefits.
2.9 SWOT Analysis of Ethiopia’s Tourism Sector
2.9.1 Key Strengths -Rich cultural heritage, e.g. Axum etc, Abundant natural resources for tourism e.g. Lake Tana, Simiens Mountains, Bale Mountains, Harar, etc. ,
2.9.2 Key Weaknesses - Over-reliance on traditional culture oriented products, Lack of market presence (e.g. out of the 360 or so specialist Africa tour operators in the UK and Europe only 10% offer regular itineraries for Ethiopia), Lack of adequate skills and human capacity, Over-emphasis on traditional markets
2.9.3 Key Opportunities - Improving existing and establishing new accommodation for tourism Emerging markets in Africa and Asia, A strong domestic tourism market -Great potential for conference tourism.
2.9.4 Key threats -Global economic environment, Insecurity in the region, increasing tourism competition in the region, adverse travel advisories, Cost of doing business, Weak ICT infrastructure. (UNECA SRO-EA 2011)
2.11 Tourism in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa with a population of approximately 83 million (World Bank, 2010). Tourism is Ethiopia’s third largest foreign exchange export after coffee and oil seeds (World Bank, 2006). Estimates for the contribution to Ethiopia’s economy ranges from 2% of GDP for direct impacts (not including indirect impacts), to 6.3% in 1999, and 4.3% in 2005 (Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, 2005; Pro Poor tourism, 2004; World Bank, 2006). While tourism is increasingly important within the country, compared to other African nations, Ethiopia is small player. Ethiopia’s tourist arrivals were approximately 0.6% of the African market in 2006 (Mitchell & Coles, 2009). The most popular African destinations include Tanzania and Kenya (Carillet et al., 2009). Estimates for 2011 arrivals are 482,000, and arrivals for 2012 are forecasted to reach 683,000 (World travel and tourism council, 2011). Ethiopia currently has nine world heritage sites listed with UNESCO: Axum, Lalibela, Fasil Ghebbi, Harar Jugol, the valleys of the Awash and the Omo, Tiya, Konso, and Simien National Park. These World Heritage sites are the basis for tourism and related funding in the country. Tourism in Ethiopia, however, does have some significant challenges. The nation is still trying to change public perception of drought and starvation associated with the country, which began with campaigns in the 1980s (Walle, 2010). There is universal agreement that Ethiopia has an enormous potential as a tourism destination. Not only does it offer the usual African game and cultural experiences to visitors, but it also has a rich array of historic and natural sites that set it apart from most of its neighbors. (World Bank 2006) Ethiopia’s impressive tourism potential is based on its rich mix of visitor attractions including historical, cultural, archaeological, anthropological, scenic, climatic, therapeutic, and wildlife resources. Such a unique combination of attractions within a single country has no match on the African continent. Despite Ethiopia’s wealth of cultural and environmental assets, it is not capturing its fair share of international visitor arrivals and spending. Ethiopia, with some of the richest tourism potential, has among the poorest returns from tourist receipts on the African continent.(Ethiopia Ecotourism Development Program, Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance 2007) In 2009, Ethiopia’s competitiveness ranking actually fell from 121st to 123rd most competitive travel and tourist destination out of the 133 participating countries. Conference and business tourism is the most significant segment of the Ethiopian tourist market. Including transit tourists, this sector constitutes 83% of international arrivals. There is a danger that policy-makers in Ethiopia repeat the mistake, not uncommon in Africa, of equating ‘tourist’ with ‘foreigner’. One consequence of this is a reluctance to recognize the importance of domestic tourism. The long-term vision of GoE is for Ethiopia to be one of the top ten tourist destinations in Africa by the 2020. (Jonathan and Christopher 2009)
2.12 Classification of Tourism
A. Cultural tourism- Cultural tourism describes a tourism experience where an outside person wishes to experience another culture, and the experience may or may not include historical aspects (Du Cros, 2001). Cultural tourism focuses on living cultures, such as the people of the Omo valley in Ethiopia.
B. Eco-tourism- is most commonly defined as a nature-based activity, which promotes education and preservation, while benefitting the community and respecting local culture (Fennell, 2001).
C. Pro-poor tourism- Pro-poor tourism is similar to sustainable tourism in that it does not describe a particular attraction, but refers to an approach to development that ensures operations generate net benefits for the poor (Ashley, Roe, & Goodwin, 2001).
D. Community-based tourism- (CBT) refers to tourism that is located in a community, is either owned, operated, or generating benefits for the local community, and participation of community members is a part of the planning process (Blackstock, 2005; Hall, 1991).
E. Rural tourism- Rural tourism is defined by its location. The tourism activity takes place in a rural area, the activity is non urban in character and function, and reflects the history and environment of the area (Lane, 1994).
F. Archaeotourism- Archaeotourism or archaeological tourism refers simply to the travel to archaeological sites by tourists (Wurz & van der Merwe, 2005).
G. Heritage tourism- Is “tourism centered on what we have inherited, which can mean anything from historic buildings, to art works, to beautiful scenery” (Yale, 1998, ).
2.13 Bahir Dar and Its Tourist Destination
Bahir Dar for centuries has been a place of commercial importance. Bahir Dar, situated as it is on the southern extremity of Lake Tana, provides access to both the lake and its many islands, and to the Blue Nile Falls (Tis Isat). The town today, with its wide, palm lined avenues and gardens overflowing with tropical vegetation, is a place of considerable economic and commercial importance, with a cotton factory, a polytechnic, and a teacher training institute, as well as a growing number of modern shops, offices, hotels, and restaurants (Marye 2011)
LAKE TANA
Lake Tana is highland and largest lake in Ethiopia and 10 in Africa. Lake Tana is emerging as one of the world’s most important inland water bodies. It is located within 11037’’ North Latitude and 37025’’ East longitude. The lake and its island and terrestrial vicinities comprise impressive attractions of natural and cultural settings in 19 monasteries, and 39 islands with associated wet and dry lands. These areas inhabited by both aquatic and terrestrial species of fishes, hippopotamus, reptiles, amphibians and respective habitats. Based on various assessment documents natural areas of Tana Lake comprise variety of fish species, more than 220 bird species, and 16 higher mammals. (Marye 2011)
1.1 Lake Tana Monasteries
Covering an area of 3600 square kilometers, Lake Tana is the home of several monasteries which follow the Orthodox Christian religion. Some of these monasteries are more than 700 years old and are repositories of the invaluable historical heritages collected from different corners of the country and skeletal remains of the medieval Ethiopian emperors. Hence, it is possible to say that these monasteries are museums of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
1.2 Debre Mariam
The Monastery of Debre Mariam (Abbey of St. Mary) can be reached either by traveling by boat for about 20 minutes north- east of Bahir Dar or by walking for an hour and half and then crossing the Blue Nile river by boat. Debre Mariam Monastery which houses different historical heritages is said to be put up during the reign of Emperor Amde Tsion (1315-1345).
1.3 Kibran Gebriel and Entos
After traveling for 45 minutes by boat west of Bahir Dar, there are twin islands lying on a hilltop which is covered by forest and has a captivating landscape. These islands are Kibran Gebriel and Entos. Kibran Gebriel and Entos have served for long years as monasteries dedicated only for monks and nuns respectively.
1.4 Zegie
Zegie is a peninsula situated in the south- west edge of Lake Tana. When it is seen from nearby, it looks like a big bird resting with its wings spread. While Zegie is 15 kilometers far from Bahir Dar, it takes an hour and half to travel by boat and an estimated 2 hours overland. Scattered on the Zegie peninsula, there are 7 churches. They are: Mehal Zegie Giorgis (George of central Zegie), Abune Betre Mariam, Azewa Mariam, Ura kidane Mhiret, Debre Selassie (Abbey of the Trinity), Yiganda Abune Tekle Haimanot and Firie Mariam.
1.5 Deq Island
Deq is the largest island in Lake Tana. It is located 37 kilometers north of Bahir Dar and takes about 3 hours by boat. The island was previously known as ‘Sebat Debir Ager’ (Place of Seven Churches) as the churches had been seven, but later they made eight including Mihila Kidane Mhiret. These churches are: Daga Estifanos- the nearest monastery to Bahir Dar, Narga Selassie, Kidist Arsema, Kota Mariam, Ze Ibd Iyesus, Joga Yohannes, Gadna Giorgis, and Mihila Kidane Mhiret. The word ‘Deq’ means, ‘Lij or Tinish’ in Ge’ez, (in English- Kid or Small).
1.6 Daga Estifanos
Among the Lake Tana islands, Daga is the nearest to Deq island. Since the island is on an elevated ground, it can be viewed from the different shores of the Lake. Daga is covered by a dense forest and houses Estifanos Church which is said to be built by Abune Hirute Amlak during the reign of Emperor Yekuno Amlak. The shape of Daga Estifanos church is different from the others in that it is built in the shape of a ship and this, according to the monks, is to symbolize the biblical ark of Noah ( Noah’s ship) built to save his family and the animals from the Flood. (Emiru 2010)
Bezawit Hilltop
Bezawit Hilltop offers an excellent view of Bahir Dar from a little distance. While Bezawit hilltop is found 5 kilometers on the eastern edge of the town, it is possible to reach the hill on foot, vehicles or a bicycle. On the hill top is found Bezawit palace which was built by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1967. Taking a partial view of the winding journey of the spectacular Blue Nile and the hippopotamuses delighted through the splashing of water in the river and other bird varieties is too delightful.
The Blue Nile Falls
The spectacular Blue Nile Falls locally known ‘Tis Isat’ (Smoke of Fire’) are found nearby Tis Abay town which is 30 kilometers east of Bahir Dar. Dropping over a sheer chasm of 400 meters wide and 40-50 meters deep, the Blue Nile Falls are one of the most dramatic and stunning spectacles. The cascading water that plunges down the chasm produces a continuous spray of water droplets and mist that make the area look as if it were covered with smoke. There is a vehicle road from Bahir Dar to Tis Abay town. And from the town there are two ways to reach the fall. The first is traveling 1.5 kilometers by car and walking for 20 minutes from the parking lot through a footpath of upward and downward slopes. The other alternative is to cross the river by the locally made papyrus reed boats and motor boats. This requires visitors to first cross the market place north- west of the town and reach the river. Reaching the bottom of the falls in this way takes 30-40 minutes. Both alternatives can be used for the return trip.
Alta Bridge
At the foot of the hill is located Alta Bridge that is said to be built in the 17th century during the reign of Emperor Susenyos. It is believed to be the first bridge built over the Blue Nile.
Accommodations and Restaurants in Bahir Dar
Name of Hotel and Number of Rooms
Andnet Hotel(21), Azewa hotel(30), Bahir Dar Hotel (23), Blue Nile Hotel (55), Deb Anbessa Hotel (59)*3, Enkutatash Hotel (18), Ethio Star Hotel (78), Ghion Hotel (30), Papyrus Hotel(100), Summer land Hotel (40), Tana Hotel (60) *3, Blue Nile Resort (64), Gasa hotel (31), Homeland hotel (28)*4, Kuriftu Resort Lake tana(28), Boston lodge(40), Abayeminch lodge(40) (WWW,file://localhost/E:/tt/research%20document%20on%20bahir%20dar/BahirDarDestination.mht)
Conceptual Framework of the Study
To show the relationship between variables (dependent and independent), conceptual framework is found to be used by the researcher.
Bahir Dar’s Tourist Attractions
Lake Tana
Blue Nile Falls
Islands and Peninsular Monasteries
Alta Bridge
Bezawit Hill Top and the Palace
Stakeholders
Tourists
Host Community
Tourism Industry
Gov’t Department and Agencies-Infrastructure, Tourist facilities and services, Safety and Security
Media-Promotion and Marketing agencies
Human resources- Experts
Travel and tourism Facilitation
Pressure Groups and Voluntary Sector
Marketing strategies
STP
Product strategies
Price strategies
Promotion strategies
Place strategies
People, Physical evidence and Process( extended mix)

Sustainable Tourism Development
Economic Benefit
Environmental Benefit
Socio cultural Benefit
Figure 1 Conceptual frame work (For destination marketing)
CHAPTER 3- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Study site
The title, under discussion or study, will be conducted in Bahir Dar, the capital city of Amhara National Regional State, which is located in north western Ethiopia. According to population census of Ethiopia in 2007, the city’s population is estimated to be 170,000 and it is one of the leading and best tourist destinations in Ethiopia with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile River. It is also distinctly known for its wide avenues lined with palm trees and a variety of colorful flowers. It is also a ‘Historic Route’ passing through of Gondar, Lalibela and Axum. This study will be conducted in tourist destinations of city of Bahir Dar and its environs mainly focus on City of Bahir Dar, Monastery of Lake Tana and Tis Abay District.
3.2 Research Design
The research strategy chosen for this study is both a descriptive and an exploratory type of research design that aimed to describe the existing and explore new marketing strategy that best fit Ethiopian’s situation. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed in the research in order to augment and enhance the study.
3.3 Research Instrument
In this research work, like any other, both primary and secondary data were used as a main source of information. Primary data was collected by employing questionnaires survey, key informant interviews and personal observation. On the other hand, secondary data was collected from different books, articles, prior researches, internet etc and documents from relevant offices or bureaus.
3.4 Population
Unlike customers of Banks’, or other entities, tourists are not easily accessible rather to be reached at the time of researcher field survey and to be contacted as per their convenience for the researcher. They will not come repeatedly since it is experience, so it is difficult to depict the population of this study. So it is found important to take the average tourists flow from ANRSCTPDB
To take the sample of tourists from the whole population, the following technique has been applied. The researcher takes the four years, 2002-2005, tourist flow that visited Bahir dar and its environs and taken the average then divided in to twelve because the researcher needed a one month field survey in the destination area, which is April 2013, after that 6% of it is determined as a sample.
Local tourists’ flow international inbound tourists
17,822 15205 15,695 14,743 7,9008,182 7,961 9,243 =32,286
Average= 23,826.5 Average=8,321
A/12= 1,985 A/12=693 Total =1,985+693=2,678
2,678*6% =160=sample
Since international inbound tourists have greater experience of visiting different tourist destination area around the world, the number of tourists who are addressed with questionnaire is greater than local tourists, 105 and 55 respectively. In contrary, the number of travel agents, hotels, souvenir shops owners are known and sampling frame and size are taken purposively.
There are eight Tour operators/ travel agents identified and registered by the office. There are forty one registered Souvenir shops owner that operate their business in Bahir Seventeen hotels are registered so that tourist can stay there.
3.4.1 Determination of Sample Size
As it is already depicted above, the nature of purposive design helps the researcher to select the samples based on respondents’ knowledge and nearness to the research problem. There were a semi structured and unstructured interview with expert of ANRSCTPDB and three hotel managers. The researcher also administered questionnaires for; tourists, travel agent and tour operators’ managers, souvenir sellers. A total of 176 questionnaires were distributed, one hundred five for foreign tourists, fifty five domestic tourists, eight travel agents, and eight souvenir sellers, the numbers of foreign tourists are greater than that of locals because of their higher experience of visiting other international destination. With the exception of foreign tourists where questions were in English, for domestic tourists, questionnaires were administered in their local language (Amharic).
3.5 Method of Data Analysis
The data collected from primary and secondary sources were tabulated and analyzed through descriptive statistical tools (frequencies, percentages, mean). Data entering, coding, computing and analyzing were facilitated by the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), version 16 that helped to draw conclusion and recommendation
CHAPTER FOUR
4. DATA ANALYSIS, DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION
This part of the study deals with the analysis and interpretation of the data collected from respond Amhara National Regional State Culture, Tourism and Parks Development Bureau. Both open and close ended questionnaire were distributed to tourists, domestic and international, souvenir sellers, and travel agent and tour operators.
In addition to the questionnaire, a semi structured interview was held with Amhara National Regional State Culture, Tourism and Parks Development Bureau, Ato Tilahun and with three Hotel managers from Dib Anbessa hotel, homeland hotel, and papyrus hotel to triangulate information obtained from different stakeholders of the industry. All the data gathered through questionnaire were organized in tabular and figure form and data obtained through interview also qualitatively described. For the sake of simplicity, the first part of the study discusses the characteristics of the respondents, and the second part deals with the analysis and discussion of the data of the study related to marketing strategy- product, price, promotion and distribution of tourism products and services, the basic research questions.
Reliability Analysis
Reliability is defined as the extent to which a questionnaire, test, observation or any measurement procedure produces the same results on repeated trials (Michael J. Miller).
The general convention in research has been prescribed by Nunnally and Bernstein (1994) who state that one should strive for reliability values of .70 or higher.
To test this, questionnaire were distributed to ten respondents and the value is depicted below.
Marketing strategy Number of items Cronbach Alpha(α) value
Tourism Product and service 7 .889
Price of tourism products 4 .740
Promotion in tourism 4 .865
Distribution 4 .845
Tourists’ Satisfaction 7 .908
As one can see from the above table, all items are above 0.7 and according to Nunnally and Bernstein (1994) it is reliable.
4.1 Demographic Characteristics of respondents
The characteristics of respondents- travel agent and tour operators, souvenir seller, and tourists by sex, age, educational level, marital status, occupation, income, nationality and trip purpose are presented in the first part.
It has been described in chapter three that a total of one hundred and seventy six copies of questionnaires were distributed to the target of the study, were sixteen was distributed to souvenir sellers and travel and tour operators equally and one hundred and sixty for tourists, fifty five domestic and hundred and five international tourists. But one hundred and sixty six were filled and returned whereas, the rest ten found to be incomplete and excluded.
As it is expressed in chapter three, there are eight tour operators and travel agents registered and operate their business in Bahir dar and one manager from each has been selected and filled the questionnaire designed for them- see appendix. In relation to souvenir shops, they have been clustered based on their geographical dispersion from the destination sites in to North, South, East and West and two shops from each cluster have been selected and filled the survey questionnaire designed for them only.
Table 4.1.1 Gender and age of respondents- Souvenir shop owners’ and travel agents
N=16 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid
Gender Male Souvenir Agent Souvenir Agent Souvenir Agent Souvenir Agent
6 7 75.0 87.5 75.0 87.5 75.0 87.5
Female 2 1 25.0 12.5 25.0 12.5 100.0 100.0
Total 8 8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Valid
Age
Below 28 6 6 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0
29-39 2 2 75.0 25.0 25.0 25.0 75.0 100.0
Total 8 8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Source researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
As per the above table, 75%, or 6 from 8 of souvenir sellers are male and the rest 25% are females. On the other hand, seven or 87.5% of travel and tour operators are male and the remaining 12.5% is female. Majority, 75% of souvenir sellers are under the age of 28 and the remaining 25% are between 29 and 39. There are no respondents whose ages are greater than 39. The same is true in case of travel agent and tour operators.
Table 4.1.2 Current education level of respondents- souvenir owners
N=8 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid
Education
Diploma 3 37.5 37.5 37.5
BA, BSc and above 2 25.0 25.0 25.0
Others 3 37.5 37.5 100.0
Total 8 100.0 1000.0 Source researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
Thanks to the expansion, initiation of group of peoples and unions that makes them starts their own business rather than waiting for the government jobs, tourism business is carried out by those who have Diploma, Degree and other level of education. As per the above table, Diploma holder, Degree holder, and others constitute 37.5%, 25% and 37.5% respectively. There is no respondent with informal education and Masters Degree and above.
Source researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1 Current education level of respondents- Travel agents
The above figure dictates that three of the respondents are diploma holder and at the same time others that includes Certificate, TVT Levels, etc. are too. On the other hand, there are two respondents who have BA/BSc and they are expected to have knowledge about marketing strategy for tourism that can help succeed in this industry. There are no respondents with no formal education and Masters degree and above.
Table 4.1.3 Monthly income category of respondents in birr N=16
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Souvenir Agent Souvenir Agent Souvenir Agent Souvenir Agent
Valid
Income
Category Less than1000 5 - 62.5 - 62.5 - - 62.5
1000-2500 3 - 37.5 - 37.5 - - 100.0
2,501-5,000 - 5 - 62.5 62.5 62.5 Greater than5,000 - 3 - 37.5 37.5 100.0 Total 8 8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Source researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
The above table shows that most of, 62.5% of the souvenir sellers’ monthly income is less than 1000 Et Birr, the rest 37.5% have a monthly income that lies between 1000 and 2500. There is no souvenir sellers who got greater than 2500 per month. That is may be because of the seasonal nature of tourism business and tourists come to any destination to achieve those objectives with their limited time. On the other hand, majority of the respondents- travel agents and tour operators, 62.5% of their incomes lie on 2501-5000 and the remaining 37.5% is greater than 5000. Compared to souvenir sellers, the income of travel agents and tour operators are high because of the large type of services provided by them such as organizing an event, city tour, culture tour, pilgrimage tour, reservation of hotels, Airlines booking etc. There is no respondent who got less than 1000 ET birr per month.
Table 4.1.4 how long have you been doing this business? Experience In year
N=16 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid
Experience Souvenir Agent Souvenir Agent Souvenir Agent Souvenir Agent
Less than 1year - - - - - - -
1-2 - 2 - 25.0 - 25.0 - 25.0
3-5 - 4 - 50.0 - 50.0 - 75.0
Greater than 5 8 2 100.0 25.0 100.0 25.0 100.0 100.0
Total 8 8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Source researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
All of the souvenir shops started their business in the year back to 2005 that means they have an experience of more than 5 years in this business. Half, 50% of the total agent respondents have 3-5 years of experience as a travel agent. On the other hand, the remaining 50% is distributed equally for those who have an experience between 1-3 years and greater than 5 years. There is no travel agent whose work experience is less than a year.
The following section discusses tourists’ background.
Marketing strategy, specific marketing mix, will be effective, if it consider the demographic aspects, the cultural background and the educational level, the psych-grapic and benefit segmentations of tourists. That is why it has been incorporated in this study
Table 4.1.5 characteristic of tourists by gender and age
N=150 Frequency Percent
Valid
Gender Male Domestic International Domestic International
40 80 80.0 80.0
Female 10 20 20.0 20.0
Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Valid
Age category Lessthan28 30 6 60.0 6.0
29-39 16 48 32.0 58.0
40-50 4 38 8.0 28.0
Above 50 - 8 - 8.0
Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
The above table shows that forty of fifty domestic tourists are male and the remaining ten constitutes female tourists. In relation to international tourists, 80% of them are male and the rest 20% goes to female tourists. In both case, the number of male tourists are greater than female tourists because of several reasons.
The second dimension is age and majority, 60 %( 30 of 50) of local tourists are under the age of 28, others constitute between 29 and 39, 40-50, which are 16 and 4 respectively. On the other hand majority, 48 %, of international tourists are found between the age of 29 and 39, the second leading age category is 40-50 that constitute 38 tourists and the remaining 6 and 8 goes to less than 28 and above 50 respectively. According to Robert and Morrison, It is safe to conclude that the rates of participation in the majority of leisure activities decline with age (Robert & Morrison, 2002).
Table 4.1.6 Current education level of respondents
N=150 Frequency Percent
Domestic International Domestic International
Valid
Education Diploma
Degree 5
25 -
30 10.0
50.0 -
30.0
Masters and above 4 70 8.0 70.0
Others 16 - 32.0 -
Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
The above table is about education background of respondents and local tourists found diploma, degree, masters and above and others, 10%, 50%, 8%, and 32% respectively. From this one can see that majority or half of local tourists are 1st Degree holder. Others constitute, no formal education, certificate, level 3, 4 etc. on the other hand international tourists found to be 1st degree and masters Degree holder, 30% and 70% respectively.
Table 4.1.7 marital status and Travel party composition of respondents
N=150 Frequency Percent
Domestic International Domestic International
Valid
Marital
Status Single 38 50 76.0 50.0
Married 10 44 20.0 44.0
Divorced 2 6 4.0 6.0
Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Valid
Travel party composition Single 4 30 8.0 30.0
With family 4 10 8.0 10.0
With friends 40 50 80.0 50.0
Couples 2 10 4.0 10.0
Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
The above table tells us that in both case, majority of tourists are inclined to be single, 76% and 50% domestic and international respectively and 20% and 44% are married. The rest are divorced.
As you can see, in the above table, majority of the tourists comes to visit destination with their friends that constitute 80% and 50% domestic and international respectively. The second leading groups are those who come alone, 8% and 30% preceding those who are with their family, 8%, 10%, and couples, 4% and 10% domestic and international respectively
Table 4.1.8 Current occupation and monthly income of respondents
N=150 Frequency Percent
Domestic International Domestic International
Occupation Student 6 10 12.0 10.0
Employed 40 70 80.0 70.0
Retired 4 14 8.0 14.0
Others - 6 - 6.0
Total 50 100.0 100.0 100.0
Income Lessthan1000 8 - 16.0 -
1000-2500 30 - 60.0 -
2501-5000 10 - 20.0 -
Greater than 5000 2 100 4.0 100.0
Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
Majority, 80% and 70%, domestic and international tourists respectively, of them are employed both self and in governmental and nongovernmental org. on the other hand, 12% and 8% of domestic tourists are student and retired respectively. 10%, 14% and 6% of international tourists constitute students, retired and others. Others include those who are involved in free lance, and such types of activities. In contrary, World Bank report claimed that, the majority of visitors to Ethiopia are from the post-family and retired life stages (World Bank 2006)
From the above table one can see that there is a big gap in income between domestic and international tourists in which all of international tourists’ monthly income is greater than 5000 birr or 250$ but there are only two domestic tourists whose monthly income is greater than 5000. From this, it can be concluded that when the income of people increase, their habit and need of recreation, leisure increase and there is a positive relationship between income and vacation.
Table 4.1.9 Country of origin/ nationality of respondents, Average period of stay in Bahir dar and their purpose of trip
N=150 Frequency Percent
Domestic International Domestic International
Valid
Nationality Ethiopian 50 - 100.0 -
USA 30 30.0
Europe 66 66.0
Asia 5 5.0
Africa 5 5.0
Australia 4 4.0
Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Average Period of stay 1-3days 40 41 80.0 41.0
4-7days 8 40 16.0 40.0
More than a week 2 19 4.0 19.0
Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Purpose of trip Pleasure/ vacation 24 90 48.0 90
Business/ conference 14 10 28.0 10
VFR 12 - 24.0 -
Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
As per the above table, the majority, 66%, of international tourists are coming from Europe; mainly France, Spain, England, German, Italy, Austria etc. The data from World Bank also suggests that Ethiopia receives the highest number of visitors from Germany, the UK and France (World Bank 2006).
The second leading tourists flow is from USA, mainly of Canada. According to S.M Jha, countries like USA, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, etc, characterized with travel for holiday as part of their life style (S.M Jha). The other comes from China, Japan, Kenyan, Nigerian, etc.
The average number of days of tourists staying in Bahir Dar is depicted above and 96% and 81% of tourist stay in Bahir dar for one week, the rest, 4% and 19%, domestic and international tourists, respectively, stays for more than a week.
4.1.9(c) Trip purpose
The last part shows trip purpose and almost all, 90% of international tourists are in Bahir dar for pleasure/ vacation. Only 10% of them are for business and conference. According to the research conducted on country base, by World Bank, for Ethiopia, vacation tourists currently account for 31% of arrivals, business and conference 28%, and tourists visiting relatives 13%. Growth has been strong in all of these segments in recent years, growing at an average annual rate of more than 13% but vacation tourism has grown fastest, at 25% per year (World Bank 2006). But according to Tourism marketing guide, conference and business tourism is the most significant segment of the Ethiopian tourist market, including transit tourists; this sector constitutes 83% of international arrivals. Tourism businesses need to consider seasonal fluctuations and make their business decisions based on annual trends and not only the good times (Tourism Marketing Guide 2006). The number of business and conference tourist is higher than vacation, in that research even if vacation tourists’ growth is very fast, which is because the research is mainly conducted in Addis Ababa and it is the center of African conference. In case of Bahir dar, there is an initiation to change this trend - conference tourism, for instance there is a big meeting hall which is under construction for that purpose in Bahir dar.
On the other hand, 48%, 12%, 24%, and 16%, 4% of domestic tourists are there for the purpose of vacation/ pleasure, business, VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) and conference respectively.
4.2 PART TWO ANALYSIS OF MARKETING STRATEGY, BASIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This part deals with the discussion of the respondents’ response toward basic marketing strategy issues, mainly concentrated on products sold by souvenir sellers, services of travel agents and tour operators and hoteliers, their pricing strategy for the respected offerings, the promotion mix used to inform their customers and the distribution system to enhance STD in Bahir dar and its environs.
I SOUVENIR SELLERS
This part deals with souvenirs sellers and their involvement in tourism marketing that includes their source of products, pricing strategy, the method of promotion and distribution mechanism.
Table 4.2.1 from where do you bring your souvenir products?
N=8 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Source Bahir Dar & its surroundings 7 87.5 87.5 87.5
Addis Ababa 1 12.5 12.5 100.0
Total 8 100.0 100.0 Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
Seven of eight souvenir shop owners get their products from Bahir Dar and its surrounding and the other one obtain from it and Addis Ababa as well. It helps the host communities as a source of income through providing those raw materials as well as home made products to the shop owners. Even though they are getting souvenirs from Bahir Dar, as per the researchers observation, the items revealed, promote and shows others area culture, destinations’, and peoples like Lalibela on T-shirts, handicrafts, Gondar castles, Emperor Atse Tewodros etc. but it does not mean that they are not benefited from it, because most of them are produced from skins, woods etc and they designed it with their hands.
Fig 2 Items sold from Z, Queen Eleni and Pelican souvenir shops. Source Photo by the researcher, April 2013 during field survey
Table 4.2.2 Do you have souvenirs imported from foreign countries?
N=8 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid
Imported items Yes 1 12.5 12.5 12.5
No 7 87.5 87.5 100.0
Total 8 100.0 100.0 Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
The above table tells us that 87.5%(7) of eight souvenir shop owners gives shelf space only for local products, but the remaining, one, tries to increase the choice of tourists with both local and foreign offerings. As the majority of them are selling local products, it is one of the indicators of STD, protecting the interest of the host communities.
Table 4.2.3 Based on source area, which souvenirs are being sold frequently?
N=8 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid local-B/dar 8 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
All of the respondents believes that they are frequently selling products which are obtained from Bahir Dar and its environs – local, its accessibility- they are not incurring costs to search and buy products from other areas if it is easily accessible, tourists choices- most of tourists prefer to purchase local products both when they are in the destination area and for a momentum of the destinations they visited, etc are among the reasons that makes it frequently sold.
Table 4.2.4 Based on type of material used to make souvenirs, which are being sold frequently?
N=8 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Made of wood 1 12.5 12.5 12.5
Made of cloth 5 62.5 62.5 75.0
Painting 2 25.0 25.0 100.0
Total 8 100.0 100.0 Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
As per the above table, majority, five of them replayed that tourists products which are made from cloth is frequently sold that includes ‘TIBEB’, ‘NETELA’- generally cultural clothes in which the pictures of cross, former leaders, cultural and tourists places, etc are printed on it. On the other hand, two respondents said that they frequently selling paintings of different Saints, leaders, churches, etc. the remaining, one, is frequently selling products produced from woods.
Table 4.2.5 how do you set the price of your product- your pricing strategy?
N=8 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Competitive based 4 50.0 50.0 50.0
Perceived-value pricing 3 37.5 37.5 87.5
Other 1 12.5 12.5 100.0
Total 8 100.0 100.0 Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
As per the above table, half, four, of the respondents set their price based on the competitors’ price- competitive based pricing strategy. Three of them have been applying perceived- value pricing which is mainly a homemade product and sated based on negotiation between the seller and the buyer. The remaining one is applying others method of pricing.
Fig 3how do tourists get information about your souvenir

Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
The above figure shows that 50% of the souvenir shops have been using word of mouth communication to make their business known by tourists. This grater dominance of WOM communication is also supported by S.M Jha (2006) he said that in the tourism industry, the WOM information is found very effective. Tourists that come to the given specific shops because of the information obtained from travel agents, uniqueness of the shops, tourists directly coming to shops and others scores 12.5% each.
Table 4.2.6 Is there a special activity that you will do to increase your sales volume of souvenirs during festivals?
N=8 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Reduce price 1 12.5 12.5 12.5
Increase promotion 2 25.0 25.0 37.5
Arrange exhibition 5 62.5 62.5 100.0
Total 8 100.0 100.0 Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
In the above table, majority, five of them are arranging exhibition to increase their sales volume at the time of festivals, holidays etc. Two of them increase their promotion campaign and cost to sale more and the remaining reduce price of their offerings to sale more of their products.
Table 4.2.7 Are your markets accessible and safe for tourists?
N=8 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Yes 8 100.0 100.0 100.0 Total 8 100 100.0 Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
As we can see the figure from the above table, all of souvenir shops are accessible and safe for tourists in a sense that they are close to their pension, no transportation problem, etc.
Table 4.2.8 Does souvenir product fit tourists’ taste?
N=8 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Yes 8 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
As they are communicating with tourists, all of the respondents say that their products fit tourist’s taste that is mainly eco friendly, local, etc.
Table 4.2.9 what products and services complement local attractions and appeal to the types of visitors that come to the community?
N=8 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Cultural 7 87.5 87.5 87.5
More cultural, less modern 1 12.5 12.5 Total 8 100.0 100.0 Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
Seven of the respondents replayed that cultural items complement local attraction – tourist sites and the remaining one said that items which is more cultural and less modern can be taken as a complementary to destinations.
Table 4.2.10Are there tourists looking for products that are not produced locally?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Yes 1 12.5 12.5 12.5
No 7 87.5 87.5 100.0
Total 8 100.0 100.0 Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
Almost all, seven of eight shop owners confirmed that tourists who comes to buy products from their shops is looking forward to buying locally offered products, but the remaining one replayed that there are tourists who come to his shops and asking for foreign products.
II TOURISM PRACTICE BY TRAVEL AGENTS
Travel agents and tour operators in Bahir Dar participated in the tourism market though; providing or arranging historical tour, cultural tour, pilgrims’ tour, bird watching, organizing event, city tour, Hotel reservation-booking, air line ticket reservation, car rental and boat rental services and arranging packaging tours are kinds of tourism products that they sell to the potential tourists. As per Weaver, travel agencies operate primarily in origin regions and provide a combination of retail services to travelers on behalf of other facilitators such as carriers, car rentals, tour operators and accommodations on a commission basis (David Weaver). As per World Bank, tour operators are not effectively marketing Ethiopia (World Bank, 2006. To Market a Place- Increasingly places rely on four broad strategies to attract visitors and residents, build their industrial base, and increase exports. These are image marketing, Attractions, Infrastructure, and People (Martin 2012)
Table 4.2.11 tourism business practice by travel agents
N=8 Most tourists come to the destination-in package We give our service for tourists who come both independently and in package We inform tourists about their social, economical and environmental responsibilities in tourist destinations There is fixed price for tour guides Tourists demand more of local products than modern items We give special package during the low season We provide our customers information regarding on sustainable tourism products and packages Do you have different strategies for different segment of tourists, like student tourists, holiday tourists, conference etc? How do you promote your business to tourists?
N Valid 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
Missing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mean 4.25 4.00 3.75 4.12 4.25 3.38 3.12 1.25 4.00
Source, researchers’ questionnaire survey, 2013
As per the above table, all except item 9, whose value is 1.25, are above average. Item 9 is about market segmentation that calls for different marketing mix for different types of customers –tourists and the respondents (travel agents) confirmed that they are not applying different marketing strategy for those different types of tourists who come to visit Bahir dar and its environs. As per Kotler and Keller, all marketing strategies starts with STP- Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning and marketing mix will be designed based on STP, but as the result depicts above, they are not following that strategy which has universal acceptance with the reality that each of the categories of visitor has different characteristics related to their demographics, behavior, spending, expectations and length of stay in the country visited.
Among them, item 2 and 6, scores a similar mean, 4.25 which is larger than others and it is to mean that almost all tourists are coming to Bahir dar in package rather than being alone with the aim of getting information from their partner, safety, experience etc and majority or one can say all tourist prefers to buy local product whenever they are in the destination area and as a momentum of the attraction when they back home. That helps the local communities who are involved in producing and selling those tourism raw materials and product- home made products from skin-(local seat, cultural shoes, etc), wood- seat- ‘- cross, Plastics, horsehair, Horn, bricks are the materials and its final products which are; ‘local seats’, ‘kirar’, ‘masinko’, cross etc., cotton- T- shirts, shirts, scarf etc, Silver and bronze are available for tourists. It is one importance of tourism and sustainable tourism as a whole which is satisfying host communities. In addition to that almost all the material used to produce those tourism products are eco friendly which has no negative effect on the environment, which is one indicator of STD.
In relation to the promotion mix which has been used by travel agents, all of the respondents have been using more than one means of promotion- Mass media- FM, Printed media- broachers, magazines, Bill boards, and internet. From this it can be concluded that they are using Integrated Marketing Communication that has a strong impact to inform new customers, remind others who has previous information about them and reach in to their target markets with minimum possible costs. But according to World Bank national report, tour operators are not effectively marketing Ethiopia. Over 50% of visitors obtained information about Ethiopia either from friends or the internet; in other words their own efforts (World Bank 2006)
The mean of 3.57 tells us that travel agents and tour operators inform tourists about their social, economical and environmental responsibilities in tourist destinations. There is also a rule of conduct in monasteries as they are a religious and holy place and it has been communicated by them. As per Weaver, travel agencies can also play a crucial role in fostering sustainability throughout the tourism system by providing travelers with information about appropriate behavior as well as ‘green’ tourism businesses and products and by giving preferential exposure to the latter (David Weaver)
There is a fixed price by the travel agents for their package tour like city tour, organizing events,
Fig 4 Partial view of Leaflets and broachers designed by BRC Budget Car rent & tour and Injera tour and travel, left & right respectively, to promote their service for tourists. Source photo scanned by the researcher, 2013
All travel agents have service for tourists who come to visit the destination areas independently and or in package-group tourists, as the mean of 4.0 confirmed it above, in the table.
III marketing mix
Tourism Product and service
The scope and range of tourism service products are vast. They can range from very tangible products such as geographical areas, unique sites, and man-made facilities to more intangible specific attractions, destination facilities and amenities, accessibility, images and price (Audrey Gilmore, 2003)
Table which activities have you participated in during the past years in other area?
N=150 Frequency Percent
Domestic International Domestic International
Valid Outdoor recreation 15 50 30 75
Special events 8 20 16 20
Museum and historical sites 10 7 20 5
Others 13 Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Source researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
Outdoor recreation includes, swimming, golf and tennis, hiking- in Tigray,
Special events includes; local parties, festivals Christmas, Timket Gondar and Lalibela
Museums and historical sites - in Addis Ababa, Axum Historical sites of Harar – jegol and Argoba village,
These were the attractions and tourists destination mostly visited by tourists in their way to Bahir dar.
What tourists most like visiting Bahir dar?
As there are a lot of different attraction existed in Bahir dar, tourists were asked what thing they most liked in their stay in the destinations. Most of them replayed that they were exited with the welcoming behavior of host communities, history of Tana monasteries. Pelicans birds located everywhere in Lake Tana, the weather condition of the city etc. In contrary, some of tourists also replayed that there are some issues that should be eradicated, solved by the host communities that could affect the image of the destination as a whole; such as begging, cheating, insulting tourists knowingly or unknowingly, etc. As per previous research by Adriaan Kauffmann, Tourists do question the hospitality of Ethiopia. In relation to the national promotion where the ancient hospitality plays a role, this is a delicate issue. There are various reasons for the questioning by tourists, mostly related to their daily experiences with locals. Cheating, begging, throwing stones and asking for financial support are mentioned by international tourists in Ethiopia (Adriaan Kauffmann2008)
Tourism products or service that could have made tourists visit more enjoyable, if available
They expected to get more of hike and backpack, camp, fish, sail and boat, hunt, swim, ski, and play tennis or golf.
Horse riding, more of outdoor activities were the activities that tourists would enjoy
Product and service tourists would consider purchasing as a memento of their visit
Almost all of tourists planed to purchase tourism products purchase. As most of tourists prefer to purchase local items, the figure shows that they, international tourists, preferred to purchase hand crafts.

Fig Product and service tourists would consider purchasing as a memento of their visit
As per the above figure, 70% and 21% of domestic and international tourists, respectively would prefer to purchase closing that has an image of different destinations- Gondar castle, Lalibela etc, former leaders- Atse Tewodros, Emperor Haile slasie etc. In this case majority of domestic tourists will purchase mainly of T-shirt and clothing, in contrary majority of international tourists, 67% prefers to purchase different handcrafts designed by host communities- items produced from skin, wood etc
Tourism products and service tourists expected to get but they did not
Most of them replaed that they w
Table 4.2.12Tourism products and services’ price
N=150
How do you see the price of accommodations compared to its quality? How do you see the price of entertainment? How is the price of travel agents’ & tour operators’ service? How do you see the entrance fee of destinations?
Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign
F* % F % F % F % F % F % F % F %
Expensive 5 10 20 20 - - - - 15 30 21 21 - - 62 62
Fair 34 68 71 71 39 78 7 7 6 12 34 34 15 30 16 16
Neutral 8 16 7 7 11 22 93 93 29 58 38 38 3 6 13 13
Not fair 3 6 12 12 - - - - - 7 7 - - 9 9
Cheap - - - - - - - - - - - 32 64 - -
Total 50 100 100 100 50 100 100 100 50 100 100 100 50 100 100 100
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
F* means Frequency
There are tourists who are complaining about the entrance fee of destinations- Tana monasteries that they are paying ten times more than what local tourists are paying, entrance fee for international tourists is 100 Ethiopian Birr were as, it is only 10 Birr for domestic tourists, only because of their skin colure. Because of this complain, 62% of them said that entrance fee of destination is expensive and 9% not fair. But it does not mean that all of them are complaining about it because there are tourists constitute 16% who said that it is fair. The remaining 13% are neutral. Manufacturers or sellers of products or service discriminate the price of its offering based on the difference on quality, quantity, after sales service and other related issues and that is why tourists are complaining that they got the same service, experience and visits the same tourist sites as domestic tourists but pay more for nothing. In contrary, as per World Bank report, entrance prices of cultural sites in Ethiopia are relatively inexpensive compared to competing destinations but the Ethiopian sites lack facilities such as toilets, food and beverage outlets and shops, particularly for local handicrafts (World Bank 2006).
Fig 5 Lake Tana, Debre Mariam Monastery Source Photo by the researcher during field survey 2013
4.2.13 Tourism promotion- How do tourists get information about Bahir dar and its environs?
Over 50% of visitors obtained information about Ethiopia either from friends or the internet; in other words their own efforts. The lack of marketing and promotional strategies calls for a more focused country branding strategy and a set of targeted tourism products (World Bank 2006). They also said, the targeting of advertising, trade shows, brochure and internet-based campaigns is a critical tool in increasing revenue as well as particular forms of growth.
Table 4.2.13(a) how do you get the information about Bahir Dar?
N=150 Frequency Percent
Domestic International Domestic International
Valid Printed media 15 5 30 5
Electronics-internet 8 75 16 75
Mass media 10 7 20 7
Others 17 13 4 13
Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013 As per the above table and figure, majority, 75%, of international tourists got information about Bahir dar and its environs from the internet which is supported by the world bank 2006 report about Ethiopia, -over 50% of visitors obtained information about Ethiopia either from friends or the internet; in other words their own efforts (World Bank 2006). Electronic medias like internet and web sites (Google, you tube, TESFA Video, catalogue on Gondar and Addis), and printed materials like brochures, magazines of Ethiopian Air lines, books and Lonely planet (ANRSCTPDB 2011 report)
In contrary, only 16% of domestic tourists used internet as their source of information it is because of the limited facilities in information communication technology in the city. According to Butler (1990), people often choose their tourist destination depending on what they have seen at popular audiovisual means, like television and cinema. There is no popular audiovisual media in Ethiopia in general and Bahir dar in particular that would give tourists information about tourists destination located everywhere around that is why tourists did not consider mass media an important source of information. Much has to be done to promote Bahir Dar’s destination because as per, Adriaan Kauffmann, the poor image will be another challenge when it comes to marketing, improving the image of Ethiopia is one of the major challenges of a marketing strategy.
The tourists want to know in advance about the attractions, the facilities and other related tourism information about the host region. Though promotion plays an important role in tourism marketing, the tourism marketing in Amhara is far behind from reaching this goal, which leads to incapacity to attract a significant number of tourists. This is mainly due to inadequate and ineffective promotional measures of the tourism sector of the Region. This is because, the low quality of promotional materials, improper distribution of the materials, the perceived negative image by the potential tourists due to a wrongful and negative reporting from international media adversely affect the tourism of Amhara region in particular and the whole nation in general.
Table 4.2.13(b) Tourism promotion
N=150
The information I gathered about Bahir Dar and its environs meet my expectations Host communities promote my return visits to Bahir Dar I will share & speak, my experience about the destination to my friends, and colleagues in my home land
Domestic International Domestic International Domestic International
F* % F % F % F % F % F %
Strongly agree 35 70 73 73 22 44 70 70 44 88 73 73
Agree 8 16 17 17 19 38 14 14 6 12 27 27
Neutral 7 14 6 6 7 14 16 16 - - - -
Disagree - - 4 1 2 4 - - - - - -
Strongly disagree - - - - - - - - - - - -
Total 50 100 100 100 50 100 100 100 50 100 100 100
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013 *F means Frequency,
As the above table shows, 70% of domestic and 73% international tourists strongly agreed that the information they gathered about Bahir dar and its environs meet their expectation on the other hand 16% of local and 17% international tourists agreed on that issue. In contrary, 4% of international tourists disagreed that the information they gathered didn’t much with their expectations. The reductions of the volume of water in Blue Nile falls, lack of infrastructures are among the reasons. 14% and 6% of respondents, domestic and international respectively are neutral. As per ANRSCTPDB report, The region in particular and the country in general suffers from the image problem and the international media most often highlight the country in a negative way which causes potential visitors not to select it as a tourist destination. According to Ato Fitsum Gezahegn The owner of Paradise Ethiopia Travel, Fact Trading PLC, Guassa Eco Lodge PLC and Dimeka Lodges PLC, “Many people still have distorted information about Ethiopia and have an extremely negative image towards it. Many of our visitors say at the end of their trip that they had never expected to have such a visit never expected Ethiopia like this, etc. I remember, some groups asking where the hungry people are as they expected to be met by millions of hungry people on their trips. I also remember one group arriving at Bole airport (that was in August, 2006) and asking me to show them my ID as they doubted that they were really in Ethiopia. While coming out of the airport they again asked if they were in Ethiopia as they see the country green and were expecting a desert country. I also have an experience of having several of our visitors bringing their own food with them and later asking what to do with it. During our promotion campaigns, we face many people asking several terrible questions about war and famine in Ethiopia. Therefore, we still have to do a lot to change the image of our nation.”
The second item in the table is whether host communities promote tourists return visit and 44% domestic and 70% international tourists strongly agreed that the host communities are engaged in promoting and initiating tourists to revisit Bahir dar. 38% and 14% of domestic and international tourists, respectively agreed that they have been welcomed, helped etc during their stay with the host communities to revisit the destinations. 14% and 16% of domestic and international tourists are neutral that is might be because of their limited interaction with the host communities, and number of days in the destinations. In contrary, 4% of domestic tourists replied that they disagree that the host communities are not promoting the destination for them that might affect them to come again.
The final item in tourism promotion is will tourists share their experience with their colleagues, family etc when they get back to their home town and 88% and 77% of tourists strongly agreed that they will strongly engage in informing and pushing their relatives, friends and peoples around them to be a witness of the destinations they visited, the remaining 12% and 23% of domestic and international tourists, respectively agreed that they will tell about their experience. As per the above figure, it can be concluded that all tourists are satisfied with what they are witnessed with. It can be said that, in tourism industry, WOM communication is found to be very effective in disseminating information to others.
4.2.14 Distribution in tourism
In tourism marketing, according to Kannan, customers – visitors are expected to go to the place where destination is located, there should be effective transportation facility in the area Kannan Srinivasan (2009). In tourism marketing, principal products provided by recreation/tourism businesses are recreational experiences and hospitality, instead of moving product to the customer, the customer must travel to the product (area/community), travel is a significant portion of the time and money spent in association with recreational and tourism experiences, is a major factor in people’s decisions on whether or not to visit your business or community (Center for Ecotourism and Sustainable Development undated). Accessibility can also consider the roads, paths and gateways through which the attraction can be reached and the amount of the entry fee (David weaver 2006).
Table 4.2.15(a) how did you arrive to Bahir dar
N=150 Frequency Percent
Domestic International Domestic International
Valid By bus 38 30 76 30
By plane 2 50 4 50
By tour operators’ car 10 20 20 20
Others Total 50 100 100.0 100.0
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
Table 4.2.14(a) shows that 76% of domestic and 30% of tourists used bus to arrive Bahir dar, where as 4% and 50 5 of them used Airplane, the remaining 20% of domestic and international tourists, respectively used tour operators car to arrive to Bahir dar. It is not a surprise that half of international tourists arrived to Bahir dar thorough Airplane, it has been supported by World Bank, In Ethiopia; transportation is one of the most important components of the tourism value chain. All other components depend on transportation as a key variable. The two modes of transportation to the cultural heritage areas from Addis Ababa through Debre Markos, Bahir dar, Gondar, Debark, Axum, Adigrat, Mekele, Wolldiya, and Lalibela back to Addis are by car and by airplane (World Bank 2006)
Table 4.2.14(b) Distribution of tourism products and service in tourism
N=150
Accommodation -Hotels & restaurants, food, beverage, entertainment are easily accessible and convenience Transportation facilities in the destination area are easily accessible There is enough information located every were about the destinations, hotels, and other entertainment areas
Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign
F % F % F % F % F % F %
Strongly agree 5 10 7 7 - 8 8 - - - -
Agree 15 30 37 37 12 24 12 12 7 14 4 4
Neutral 7 14 11 11 9 18 31 31 9 18 31 31
Disagree 23 46 53 53 29 58 42 42 30 60 53 53
Strongly disagree - - 2 2 - - 7 7 4 8 12 12
Total 50 100 100 100 50 100 100 100 50 100 100 100
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
In the above table, the first item, the majority, 53% of international tourists disagree with the availability, convenience and accessibility of accommodation in the destination. In contrary, 18% of domestic and 7% international tourists strongly agreed that there is a convenience and easily accessible hotels and restaurants- accommodations in the city and 30% of domestic and 27% of tourists agreed with the above statements.
In relation to transportation facilities in the destination, majority of both domestic and international tourists, 58% and 42%, respectively disagree that there is very limited or no choice of transportation in the destination, especially in Tana monasteries there is one way of transport- boat and it is costly, as to them. In addition 7% of international tourists strongly disagree. Were as, 24% and 12% of domestic and international tourists, respectively agree with the availability and it convenience of transportation service in the destination area.
The last element is the availability of information about the destinations, hotels and other entertainment areas and majority, 60% of domestic and 53% international tourists disagree with it. In contrary, 14% of domestic and 4% of international tourists, agree that there is enough information located in TIC and other areas. The remaining 18%, 8% of domestic and 31% and 12% of international tourists are, neutral, and strongly disagree with the availability of information about the Over All Tourists’ Satisfaction toward Tourism Business in the Destination Area as per (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2007),Satisfying consumers in tourism is important for at least three main reasons as shown:
1. It leads to positive word-of-mouth recommendation of the product to friends and relatives, which in turn, attracts new customers.
2. Creating a repeat customer by satisfying them with their first use of the product brings a steady source of income without the need for extra marketing expenditure.
3. Dealing with complaints is expensive, time-consuming and bad for the organization’s reputation. Furthermore, it can add direct costs through compensation payments (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2007).
Table 4.2.15 the Over All Tourists’ Satisfaction toward Tourism Business in the Destination Area
N=150 Facilities in Hotels, restaurants and lodges
The ability of Travel agencies and tour operators to help tourists Availability of Souvenir shops and products Preservation of destinations I visited The availability of information on Tourist Information Centers Your stand on the overall destinations’ infrastructure What is your overall satisfaction on this tourist destination?
N Valid 150 150 150 150 150 150 150
Missing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mean 2.33 1.53 2.67 1.40 1.67 2.33 3.97
Source, researcher questionnaire survey, 2013
Table 4.2.5 sums up the overall tourists’ satisfaction toward hotels, travel agents, souvenir shops, preservation of tourists’ sites, and availability of information on TIC.
In marketing sense, the product or service that people get from those providers is going to be replaced if it has some defect, either before they purchase it- they can leave or they can change the vender. In tourism, the destination is the service- product- experience that tourist will have after visiting it and the above table tells us that the minimum point, mean of 1.40, is scored on the preservation of destination areas. As I discussed above, if there is a defect on the product, customers will take different actions, the same is true in case of Bahir Dar and its environs such as; tourists will not come again, negative word of mouth communication- WOM communication is found to be an effective way of promotion in tourism, in marketing books, it has been said that one dissatisfied customer will tell to more than six customers around him. So like product- Bahir dar and its environs -Tiss Abay, Tana Monasteries needs to be preserved well, like maintaining quality of product and modify it when need arises etc. If not, they will do something that reduce the tourists flow, because as Audrey said, today consumers have an expanding choice of destinations (Audrey Gilmore, 2003)
Fig 6 Left Blue Nile falls, currently, center- in the past & Tana at the right respectively Source Photo By the researcher and from www.bahiradrdestination.com
As you can see from the above picture, the volume of water is very low compared to some years back, but now it is supplied for the generation of electric power and only released some volume on Sunday.
The second minimum level of satisfaction, with the mean of 1.53, is on the ability of travel agents and tour operators to help tourists in their trip to destination areas. Most of them give a car rent service and mainly for them who comes in group, that is where there limitation is manifested because as per David weaver, in addition to offering quality interpretation on request, the tour guide is expected to provide group leadership and coordination of logistics, ensure the safety of clients, prevent inappropriate behavior, deal with emergencies, mediate interactions between clients and the host community (David weaver 2006).
In relation to the availability of information on TIC, since there is only two TIC located in Bahir Dar and Tiss Abay, tourists can’t get the information on whatever they need about the city and its destinations.
Facilities in hotels, lodges and restaurant is not as expected by tourists that includes fast wireless internet access- As the researcher observed, actually , there is an internet access in Papyrus, Dib Anbessa, Ghion and home land hotel, but it is very slow, swimming pool- only available in papyrus hotel and Kuriftu loges which is not enough compared to the number of tourists especially in pick times- epiphany-‘TIMKET’, ‘MESKEL’- cross, etc and when there is international or national conference in the town. “We are still poor at providing quality products and services and the speed and quality of service delivery” (Interview -4 ANRSCTPDB 2013). A research conducted in Ethiopia supported this as; it seems that many of the tourist destinations outside of the main towns in Ethiopia lack facilities, the quality of facilities at tourist sites impact both on the amount they spend and their relative enjoyment of the site (World Bank 2006)
Now a day there is an expansion of hotels. The following, picture of Windom Ground + 14, the first five stars Hotel in Bahir Dar, can be taken as an example, which is under construction.
Fig 6 left, Wondem Ground + 14, the first five stars Hotel in Bahir Dar, right swimming pool at papyrus hotel Source Photo by the researcher during field survey, April 2013
The availability of souvenir shops and the product they offer is condensed in similar area and sells, almost, similar types of products that reduced tourists’ choices or narrow product depth, with the mean of 2.67 which is almost average can tell this by itself.
As per the above table, tourists are not satisfied with the infrastructure facilities at destination area, the mean 2.33 which is below average, reveled this truth. There are a lot of antiquates in the traditional museum found in monasteries, they are about to lose their originality because of its in appropriate place. Recently there is a newly constructed museum at Ura-Kidanemhret. In relation to the unavailability of accommodations- restaurants, cafeterias, etc it is because of the holiness of the place and it has been already discussed in the holy bible “do not make my home a commercial place”. According to David, attractions, as much as or more so than the hospitality sector, influence the type, location and volume of tourist activity in a destination and hence the sustainability of tourism in that area (David Weaver 2006). That is why those facilities are not fulfilled in the area. In addition to that he also said that tourists may be restricted from visiting certain parts of the monastery and prohibited altogether between sunrise and sunset. That is applicable in Tana monasteries that tourists are expected to take their shoes off when they approach the Church, not allowed to enter after Liturgy is started, gender of tourists mater in some Churches- there are churches which re left for one Gender only etc. it is the fact that the infrastructures and other tourist facilities are the prerequisite of the promotional activities of the tourism industry. For that sake, intervention should be taken to upgrade the existing infrastructure facilities.
Generally, even if tourists are not satisfied with the specific facilities in hotels, tour operators, Preservation, availability of information and infrastructure, the general satisfaction, experience is weighted as greater than average.
4.3 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF INTERVIEW (QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS)
An interview was held with an expert from ANRS Tourism, Culture and Park office, Ato Tilahun, who has seven years of experience in this position. He gives a scholastic information for each questions raised by the researcher during the interview. Here is the information obtained from him.
How do you segment tourists’ destinations and tourists who visit the region in general and Bahir dar in particular?
As to him there are many tourist destination in the region and his office has been segmented them it to; Cultural & historical attractions, Special Events, Orthodox churches, Natural attractions, Bird-watching, Adventure, Scenic beauty, Night clubs, Souvenirs, and Cultural houses (eco-lodges) etc. It has its own implication on designing specific marketing strategy for each segment of attractions and tourist. Tourists who come to visit natural attraction doesn’t need the same thing like tourists who come to entertain or visit tana monasteries.
Who are most of the target market of Bahir Dar and its environs tourist destinations?
“both domestic and international tourists comes to visit Bahir Dar, by the way when they come here, they also visit Tana monasteries and Blue Nile falls- Tiss Abay fall or Tiss Isat, so when we talk about Bahir Dar, we are also talking about Tana monasteries and Blue Nile fall, In international tourists, basically they are coming from Europe (France, Spain, England, Germany, Italy, Austria, etc.), and USA mainly of Canada.”
What is your current positioning strategy designed to promote Bahir Dar and its environs?
“We provide information for tourists to attract them by using several mechanisms such as; Participating international exhibition like the one held in Germany, Produce and disseminate documentary films about tourist destinations located in our region, history, its culture, holidays, etc Our office prepare guide books and distribute to different countries through Ethiopian embay. We also use our website to inform tourists about the unique nature of the region, history and tourists destination areas.” In general we prepare tourism promotion materials, arrange photograph exhibition, and produce documentary films, to put our destination in the mind of tourists so that they will be initiated to witness what they have told, he added.
What is the host communities’ interest and commitment toward tourism and destination and what changes would tourism have on host communities?
“The host communities have been involving in tourism industry through investing in accommodation- hotel and restaurant, producing and selling souvenir products, get employment opportunities from those who are in short of human resources but engaged in tourism industry, welcoming tourists, helping tourists in their stay with them, promote tourists return visit and safeguarding themselves from the negative impacts of tourism and participate in the preservation of destination etc” he also adds some point as a change that tourism brings for the people which are the expansion of trade enterprises and facilitates the development of infrastructure transport and communication.
How do you evaluate the quality of products and services rendered by tourism related business in Bahir Dar and its environs?
For the above question, he said that “we are still poor at providing quality products and services and the speed and quality of service delivery” it indicate that more have to be done in upgrading the quality of offering that has a positive relationship with tourists average length of stay in destination sites.
Finally, what your office is doing to enhance STD in Bahir Dar and its environs?
To enhance STD, according to him, his office gives a continuous training to different stakeholders about tourism and hotel aspect, they makes field survey- researches on impacts of tourism and tourism development directions. As to him and the researcher personal observation, there is a construction of conference hall which is expected to be the second largest hall next to AU’s located in Addis Ababa. It paves the way for the expansion of conference tourism which has been dominated by the capital city, Addis Ababa. He also said that we are doing what is expected from us such as; upgrade and develop tourists service and facilities, promoting and protecting host communities’ interest, and working in the field of conservation and preservation of natural and human made attractions- forests, wild animals, and historical site maintenance etc.
In addition to ANRS tourism office experts, there was also an interview held with three hotel managers- Papyrus hotel, Dib Anbesa Hotel and Homeland hotel, about the product and service they are providing for tourists. It is grouped depends on the similarity and discussed- narrated as follows;
Products and service assembled in hotel
The decision to build a particular type and size of hotel in a particular location, for example, will help to shape tourism landscapes by influencing the type and number of tourists in a particular location as well as their spatial activity patterns. Second, hotels often provide the most visible evidence or identity of a tourism region or district and one that can easily overwhelm the local sense of place if designed and situated insensitively. Third, like cruise ships, the hospitality sector is an enormous consumer of resources and producer of wastes because of the diverse materials that are required to construct and maintain fixed accommodations. In addition, tourists typically spend one-third or more (in the case of all-inclusive packages, for example) of their time in the destination within the confines of accommodation facilities (e.g. while sleeping, eating and relaxing by the swimming pool). Fourth, large blocks of accommodation are often the centre piece of integrated resort enclaves that internalize tourist activities and expenditures, thereby constraining the local multiplier effect and potentially alienating local residents through these practices and through informal policies of exclusion (David weaver)
Almost all of hotels’ offerings are the same except some of it that differentiate hotels from others such as; swimming pool which is found in papyrus hotel only. The following are offerings found in hotels which are contacted at the time of interview with the respective managers. Accommodation- single room, twin room, family room, king size room that includes complimentary breakfast, free shuffle service and free Wi-Fi, food and beverage (bar and restaurant) massage, laundry, beauty salon, souvenir shop, terrace, meeting hall etc. Even if they said that this is the case,
Average period of tourists stay in hotels
As per papyrus hotel manager, the average days of tourist stay in the hotel is two days which is almost the same with tourists who dwelled in Dib Anbesa hotel with an average stay of three days. The more the facilities both in quality and quantity in the hotel, the more will be the periods of tourists stay and the more they will spend their money, engage in positive word of mouth communication.
Methods used to increase periods of tourists stay in a specific hotel
From the data obtained from them, they have been using several methods such as;
Make them feel as they are home, price settlement mechanism that includes discount- dib Anbesa hotel, special discounts- Homeland hotel, decreasing the price of their service in low demand season and provide discount service for tourists who comes in group - papyrus hotel, are among others used by them. In general all of them have been trying to create close relationship with them to reduce the possibility of occurrence of problems and help them to deal with it or tackle during hard times and be with them both in good and bad times. CRM
Pricing strategy- price discrimination package
All of them said that only the type of service matter not whether they are domestic or international tourists and they are charged the same price. In some lodges, for instance in Kuriftu lodge, they are setting higher price for their service and it is open free for local or host communities to visit the area on Sunday only otherwise they are entitled to pay an entrance fee that they believed to reduce over crowd, increase quality etc. Generally it can be taken as a de-marketing activity.
Promotion of reservation of accommodation- rooms, food and meeting hall etc and Types of media used to promote hotel service
According to them, all of them are providing a reservation service for tourists in advance. E-mail, telephone, broachers, TV and radio are the major means that helps them to get a reservation order from their customers or tourists who planned to visit Bahir Dar and its environs. For instance Dib Anbessa hotel uses their website and E-mail, www.dibanbessa.webs.com and [e-mail], telephone- 251582201436, fax- 251582266116. By using the above mechanism, they inform tourists about the type and number of service, price and other issues. Tourists will reduce the cost-money, time, energy, etc, that they would incur if there were no reservation service in searching for that service. As to the types of tourists who arrive more to Bahir dar and use those tourists’ standard hotels, hotel managers said that international tourists are highly visiting their hotels than domestic tourists who come for vacation and recreation purpose. In relation to the different types of tourists arrive in the city that calls for different strategy depends on their difference on their unique characteristics, hoteliers are not designing specific marketing strategy for each types of tourists.
Major marketing problems encountered by hotel mangers
Among the marketing problems which are observed in accommodation services, the following takes the lion shares and shared by almost all hotels. It has been difficult to plan and design the bed rooms as per their preference with all luxuries facilities which needs a high financial resources and there is a limited economy to do that. The widespread of the target market, generally high marketing cost toward the four Pc- to change products and service depends on tourists preference, The alarmingly increment of the price of raw material force them to increase the price and tourists starts to complain about it, High costs of promotion, and Transportation and communication facilities that will enhance the relationship between the service provider and customers- tourists Difficulty of maintaining consistent quality of service which emerged from the intangibility nature of service etc
The role of hotel managers in enhancing STD in Bahir dar and its environs
Since hoteliers are one of the stakeholders of tourism industry, they are expected to take their part in assuring STD. They rose the following as their responsibility to achieve STD in the city; giving an awareness program for host communities about tourism and its importance for them when tourists arrive to the city, in collaboration with the concerned body, giving training for local guiders about their offerings, Arrange a meeting with other hotel managers and discuss about common issues, Assist hoteliers which is new in the market for mutual benefit, Striving to enhance the quality and standards of their service that will increase tourists’ period of stay in their hotels through giving quality improvement training for their staff. Etc.
CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 CONCLUSION
In chapter two literatures from different source has been reviewed and in chapter four, the discussion and finding are depicted. By triangulating information from the above reviewed and discussed parts, conclusion has been drawn.
As a distributor and seller of souvenir, souvenir sellers’ are getting tourism products from Bahir dar and its surrounding, it helps the host communities as a source of income through providing those raw materials as well as home made products to the shop owners. Even though they are getting souvenirs from Bahir Dar, as per the researchers observation, the items revealed, promote and shows others area culture, destinations’, and peoples like Lalibela on T-shirts, handicrafts, Gondar castles, Emperor Atse Tewodros etc. but it does not mean that they are not benefited from it, because most of them are produced from skins, woods etc and they designed it with their hands. And it has been sold frequently because it is easily accessible, tourists’ choices- most of tourists prefer to purchase local products.
As there are a lot of attraction existed in Bahir dar, tourists were asked what thing they most liked in their stay in the destinations. Most of them replayed that they were exited with the welcoming behavior of host communities, Tana monasteries. Pelicans birds located everywhere in Lake Tana, the weather condition of the city etc. In contrary, some of tourists also replayed that there are some issues that should be eradicated, solved by the host communities that could affect the image of the destination as a whole; such as begging, cheating, insulting tourists knowingly or unknowingly, etc.
In relation to the stakeholders of tourism; hoteliers and accommodation’ providers sides, there are problems of quality and limited facilities. In Travel agents and tour operations, overcharging of price, unable to provide service as promised, the overcrowded tour package which results shorter length of tourist stay at the time of interpretation, in addition to poor interpretation service by local guides. Higher price of items because of colures of international tourists, and communication problem on the side of souvenir sellers are other issues.
Among others, E-mail, telephone, broachers, TV and radio are the major means that help hoteliers to get a reservation order from their customers or tourists who planned to visit Bahir Dar and its environs.
There is no or limited promotional campaign designed and implemented by the concerned body, ANRSCTPDB, especially the regional tourism resources could not promote through effective and international media like cable TV, world renowned newspapers, magazines and other world coverage media, due to both budget and knowledge constraint. As a result, the regional culture and tourism bureau and other stake holders of tourism industry has to depend on the local media and organizational printed materials like brochures, leaflets and magazine which are written by local languages, which are not effective measure for attracting foreign tourists.
RECOMMENDATION
It may seem in appropriate, in our current situation, to target a specific number of countries from where the most tourists come to visit Bahir Dar and the region rather than targeting the whole market. But it is important to make it easy to design specific marketing mix especially to undertake more promotional activities to those countries so that a larger number of tourists can be attracted.
In relation to transportation (place/ distribution), to make the destination accessible and easy to be reached or visited, according to Kannan Srinivasan (2009), customers – visitors are expected to go to the place where destination is located, there should be effective transportation facility in the area, an adequate attention should be exerted by the concerned body to upgrade the existing road and communication facilities that connect the city with destinations. E.g. the thirty one kilometer road that connects Bahir dar and Tiss Abay (where Blue Nile fall is found) is not a standard road that affects tourists not to use their own transportation facilities like two wheelers. In addition there is lack of electricity, communication facilities etc that reduce the number of tourist flows. According to S.M Jha, people often prefer to visit spiritual and religious places and tana monasteries are the most visited destination in Bahir Dar so if the concerned body doesn’t take the necessary action, the majority of the income generated from that segment will not be available any more.
Travel agents, hotels, Air lines etc are distributors and retailers of tourism and like distributers of physical products, they perform a lot of function for producers and themselves among their function, they gather information about tourists and their characteristics’, utilize it and provide to the concerned body that will help those who are in need of it to improve their service, add additional package, etc so they need to be initiated to compile information about tourists. Through providing teaching facilities for tour operators- guiders about the destinations’ history, host communities’ culture, etc and an effective follow up whether tour operators/ guiders are telling tourists the real history/ information or not that can create confusion and false- wrong history that will damage the image of the destination.
Travel agents and tour operators in Bahir Dar needs to search and contact those organizations that gives its human resource an incentive in terms of field trip to different tourists destinations that is one type of new market for them other than waiting for customers- tourists to come for that service.
In the 21st century, a highly complex and sophisticated Information Communication Technology is a necessity to survive in this highly competitive business environment. So even if it is difficult to go, side to side, with the fast rate fabrication of new technology, with our limited economy, it is a necessity to participate in developing communication and information technology to create and maintain a tourist information network. In short E-marketing needs to be inspired.
ANRS tourism office has to encourage and help travel agents and tour operators through providing short term training in issues in which they are responsible for, protect the right of legal travel agents and tour operators from illegal participants in the industry who snatch their share without paying tax and create confusion on tourists. According to David Weaver, unlike static modes of interpretation such as signs, experienced tour guides are able to adjust message factors and content in response to the demographic and psychological characteristics of their audience as well as relevant situational factors (David weaver 2006). To do so, they have to be provided with the necessary training, materials, information about tourists’ background etc that will help them.
The office has to build a long term relationship with its stake holders since it helps both the vendor and the customers to have a mutual benefit from the business transaction. According to Martin, Place marketing succeeds when stakeholders such as citizens, workers, and business firms derive satisfaction from their community, and when visitors, new businesses, and investors find their expectations met. (Martin 2012) The same is true if there is a long term, positive, and strong relationship between tourists and host communities, hoteliers that leads to the STD rather than a short term gain. A continuous tourists flow will be maintained, and it will be easily maintained if there is effective relationship marketing. S.M Jha calls this a totality of relationship.
In addition to that, there should be close cooperation and coordination and relationship with different concerned office such as; minister of transport and communication- for the development of upgraded road to make easy the distribution process, information communication technology in destination areas, with universities- especially those which has a tourism faculty to deliver an awareness program for host communities, travel and tour operators, souvenir shop owners, hoteliers, etc about STD. it can be seen as a marketing system.
Hoteliers have to provide different package for lower class, middle class and upper class tourists as means of new target market rather than concentrating on upper class tourists only and losing the new market from the neglected segments. Most of the time those low and middle level income tourists are domestic tourists and they need to be served with what they have since their number, flow out weight international tourists.
According to S.M Jha, tourists from counties such as; USA, Canada, German, France, Japan etc, are characterized with travel for holiday as part of their life style. So tourism stake holders in the city has to study and compile target markets’ culture, life style and/ or the characteristics that makes them different to produce products and service that best meet their needs, set the respected price, design promotional campaign applicable for them, and arrange easy and accessible service for them.
There are no specific foreign based restaurants for specific types of tourists segment in the city. Tourists who come for pleasure does not need the same thing as conference or business tourists. It can help to promote the destination that accommodates all types of tourists and they will fell as they are home. A useful practical example is Chinese restaurant found in Addis Ababa, besides Ghion hotel that provides Chinese accommodation service for tourists. The same is true in case of tourists who are from different countries. So ANRS has to promote investors to invest in specific target market’s need that calls for specialization. As per World Bank 2006, strategies may target particular types of tourism, tourist segments and markets.
There should be a close follow up on travel agents and tour operators’ interaction with tourists. It has been observed that they are charging international tourists a high price which is unfair compared to their service and they are delivering, doing what they promised. At the same time they makes tourists to be in rush in their time of visit and there is no consistent and accurate information communicated from different operators, tourists have been saying that they got different information about the destinations’ current position.
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.( Bryden, D.M., Westbrook, S.R., Burns, B., Taylor, W.A., and Anderson, S. 2010. Assessing the economic impacts of nature based tourism in Scotland Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 398.)
(Sheldon and Abenoja, 2001). (Erdener Kaynak, Ali Kara, (2012),"Assessing tourism market potential in a dynamic emerging economy: Theoretical and empirical insights from Cambodia", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 24 Iss: 2 pp. 199 – 221)
(Coorong District Council & Limestone Coast Tourism, 2002, Tourism Marketing Strategy MITCHAM SA 5062)
(PRACTICAL STEPS FOR MARKETING TOURISM CERTIFICATION A publication of the Center for Ecotourism and Sustainable Development www.ecotourismcesd.org.))) (Enhancing private sector and community engagement in tourism services in Ethiopia)
2009 Jonathan Mitchell and Christopher Coles, Overseas Development Institute
111 Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7JD UK))))
;(( Ethiopia:
Towards a Strategy for Pro-Poor Tourism Development
Prepared for the Government of Ethiopia by the World Bank
June 30, 2006
Private Sector Development
Country Department for Ethiopia
Africa Region))
APPENDIX I
For the researcher only
Code__________
A Study on Exploring Marketing Strategy To Enhance Sustainable Tourism Development in Bahir Dar, and its environs (To Be Filled By Tourist)
Dear Sir/ Madam
I am a student in Addis Ababa University, School of Commerce in the department of Marketing Management and conducting Master thesis on the title —Exploring Marketing Strategy To Enhance Sustainable Tourism Development in Bahir Dar, and its environs for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Art in Marketing Management. So the researcher kindly requests you to fill this questionnaire.
Your contribution in providing information is important input to conduct this research and to achieve its objective.
The information that you provide will remain confidential and will be used for the purpose of this research only.
It doesn’t take you more than 15 minutes to fill. I thank you in advance for sharing your valuable experience and time
For more information, you can contact me through: [e-mail] or Mobile Phone [phone]
Cordially, the researcher
Part 1: Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
Instruction: Please put an “X” mark on the space provided and write accordingly
1. Gender: Male 2. Female
2. What is your age Range? 1. Below 28 3. 40-50 2. 29-39 4. Above 50
3. What is your current level of education? 1. No formal education 3. Masters and above 2. Degree holder 4. Other, specify______________________
4. What is your marital Status? 1. Single 3. Divorced 2. Married 4. Other, specify____________________
5. Travel party composition Single 3. With Friends 5. Other, specify__ With Families 4. Couples _______________
6. Occupation 1. Student 3. Retired 2. Employed 4. Other, specify _____________________
7. Your monthly income category in birr? Less than 1,000 3. 2,501-5,000
2 1,000- 2,500 4. Greater than 5,000
8. Please write your Ethnicity________________________________
9. Travel periods and length of stay________________________________________________
10. Trip purpose Pleasure/Vacation 4. Conference Business 5. Other, specify _________________ 3. Visiting friends or relatives
Part 2: Questions Related To Tourism Marketing Practice
Tourism Products
Which of the following activities have you participated in during the past year in other area? 1. Outdoor recreation (specify activity______________________________________ 2. Special events (specify event___________________________________________ 3. Museums and historical sites (specify___________________________________ 4. Other (specify_______________________________________________________
What things did you like most about visiting Bahir Dar and its environs? _________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If available, what types of products or services could have made your visit here more enjoyable? _________________________________________________________________
If available, what types of products would you consider purchasing as a memento of your visit to our community you purchase here for use back home? (You can select more than one) T-shirts and Clothing 4. Factory Outlets:
2 Cards 5. Skin and Health Care 3. Crafts 6. Other, specify______________
5. What products or service did you expect to get and you didn’t? ________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Tourism Promotion
Here is your level of agreement toward destination promotion were, 5=strongly agree, 4= Agree, 3=Neutral, 2= Disagree and 1=strongly disagree
Tourism promotion 5 4 3 2 1
The information I gathered about Bahir Dar and its environs meet my expectations Host communities promote return visits I will share my experience about the destination in my home land I will speak highly of this tourist destination to my friends and colleagues. How do you get the information about Bahir Dar and its environs? Printed media – Magazine, newspaper etc 3. Mass media
2. Electronics - Internet 4. Other, specify____________
2.3 Tourism Products Price
Please put an “X” Mark on the Space provided, that measures the price of tourism products and service. Were, 5= Expensive, 4= Fair, 3= Neutral, 2= Not fair, and 1= Not expensive
Tourism Products Price 5 4 3 2 1
How do you see the price of accommodations compared to its quality? How do you see the price of entertainment? How is the price of travel agents service? How do you see the entrance fee of destinations? Tourism Products Availability-Distribution
Please put an “X” mark on the space provided that best describe your opinion toward availability of tourism products and service. Were, 5=strongly agree, 4= Agree, 3=Neutral, 2= Disagree and 1=strongly disagree
Tourism Products Availability-Distribution 5 4 3 2 1
Accommodation are easily accessible and convenience Transportation facility in the destination area are easily accessible Food, beverage, entertainment etc are easily available and convenience There is enough information located every were about the destinations, hotels, and other entertainment areas How did you arrive to Bahir Dar? By bus 3. By tour operators car By plane 4. Other, specify_________
Part 3: The Overall Satisfaction toward Tourism Businesses in the Destination Area
Please Put an “X” Mark on the Space Provided that describe your level of satisfaction toward the given items were, 5= Very satisfied, 4= Satisfied, 3= Neutral, 2= Dissatisfied, & 1= Very dissatisfied
Items 5 4 3 2 1
Facilities in Hotels, restaurants and lodges The ability of Travel agencies and tour operators to help tourists Availability of Souvenir shops and products Preservation of destinations I visited The availability of information on Tourist Information Centers Your stand on the overall destinations’ infrastructure What is your overall satisfaction on this tourist destination? Generally how do you see the hospitality of the local communities towards tourists in Bahir Dar? The problems you observed and what should be done to enhance sustainable tourism development in Bahir Dar and its environs? ______________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Thank you once again for your contribution!
APPENDIX II
For the researcher only
Code__________
A Study on Exploring Marketing Strategy To Enhance Sustainable Tourism Development in Bahir Dar, and its environs (To Be Filled By Souvenir Owners)
Dear Sir/ Madam
I am a student in Addis Ababa University, School of Commerce in the department of Marketing Management and conducting Master thesis on the title —Exploring Marketing Strategy To Enhance Sustainable Tourism Development in Bahir Dar, and its environs for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Art in Marketing Management. So the researcher kindly requests you to fill this questionnaire.
Your contribution in providing information is important input to conduct this research and to achieve its objective.
The information that you provide will remain confidential and will be used for the purpose of this research only.
It doesn’t take you more than 15 minutes to fill. I thank you in advance for sharing your valuable experience and time
For more information, you can contact me through, [e-mail] or Mobile Phone [phone]
Cordially, the researcher
Part 1: Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
Instruction: Please put an “X” mark on the space provided and write accordingly
Gender:
Male 2. Female
2.Age Below 28 3. 40-50 29-39 4. Above 50
3.Educational qualification: 1 . No formal education 3. BA, BSc and above 2. Diploma 4. If other, specify___________
4. Your monthly income category in birr? Less than 1000 3. 2,501-5000 1000- 2500 4. Greater than 5000
5. How long have you been doing this business? Experience In year Less than a year 3. 3-5 years 1-2 years 4. Greater than 5 years Part 2: Question toward Tourism Marketing Practice
From where do you bring your souvenir products? (You can select more than once)
Bahir Dar & its surroundings 3. Outside Ethiopia
Addis Ababa 4. Other, specify___________
Do you have souvenirs imported from foreign countries? Yes 2. No
If your answer to question number ‘2’ is ‘Yes’,
Where do you bring them? ______________________________________________
Why do you bring them? _______________________________________________
Based on source area, which souvenirs are being sold frequently? Local (from Bahir Dar town or its surrounding) 3. Items imported abroad Items imported from Addis Ababa 4. Other, specify________
Based on type of material used to make souvenirs, which are being sold frequently? Made of wood 4. Painting Made of metal 5. If other, specify______ Made of cloth _____________________ How do you set the price of your product- your pricing strategy?
1 Cost plus pricing 3. Perceived-value pricing
2. Competitive based 4. Other, specify ______
How do you attract tourists? (How do tourists get information about your souvenir?) Through travel agencies and tour operators 4. Simply tourists coming Word of mouth from customers 5. Other, specify______ Uniqueness of the product _____________________
Is there a special activity that you will do to increase your sales volume of souvenirs during festivals? Reduce price 3. Arrange exhibition Increase promotion 4. Other, specify______
Are your markets accessible and safe for tourists? Yes 2. No
What do tourists complain about when purchasing souvenirs? _______________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Does souvenir product fit tourists’ taste? Yes 2. No
What products and services complement local attractions and appeal to the types of visitors that come to the community? Cultural 3. More cultural, less modern Modern 4. More modern, less cultural Are there tourists looking for products that are not offered locally? 1. Yes 2. No
How do you deal with such tourist needs? _______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you once again for your contribution!
APPENDIX III
A Study on Exploring Marketing Strategy To Enhance Sustainable Tourism
Development in Bahir Dar, and its environs (To Be Filled Travel Agency and Tour Guides)
Dear Sir/ Madam
I am a student in Addis Ababa University, School of Commerce in the department of Marketing Management and conducting Master thesis on the title —Exploring Marketing Strategy To Enhance Sustainable Tourism Development in Bahir Dar, and its environs for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Art in Marketing Management. So the researcher kindly requests you to fill this questionnaire.
Your contribution in providing information is important input to conduct this research and to achieve its objective.
The information that you provide will remain confidential and will be used for the purpose of this research only.
The questionnaire doesn’t take you more than 15 minutes to fill. I thank you in advance for sharing your valuable experience and time
For more information, you can contact me through: [e-mail] or Mobile Phone [phone]
Cordially, the researcher
Part 1: Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
Instruction: Please put an “X” mark on the space provided and write accordingly
Gender:
Male 2. Female
2. Age 1. Below 28 3. 40-50 2. 29-39 4. Above 50
3. What is your current level of education? 1. No formal education 3. Masters and above 2. BA/BSc Degree holder 4. Other, specify____________________
4. Your monthly income category in birr? Less than 1000 3. 2,501- 5000 1000- 2500 4. Greater than 5000
5. Name of your business_________________________________________________________
6. How long have you been doing this business? In year Less than a year 3. 3- 5 1-2 years 4. Greater than 5
Part 2: Tourism Marketing Practice
Please put an “X” on the space that best descibe your level of agreement on the following tourism marketing practice questions. Were, 5=Strongly agree, 4= Agree, 3=Neutral, 2= Disagree and 1=Strongly disagree
Tourism marketing items 5 4 3 2 1
Most tourists come to the destination-in package We give our service for tourists who come both independently and in package We inform tourists about their social, economical and environmental responsibilities in tourist destinations There is fixed rate for tour guides Tourists demand more of local products than modern items We give special package during the low season We provide our customers information regarding on sustainable tourism products and packages Do you have different strategies for different segment of tourists, like student tourists, holiday tourists, conference etc? Yes 2. No
If your answer for the above question is yes, what are they? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Who are most of your target markets? ___________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________
How do you promote your business to tourists? Printed media - Magazine, newspaper etc 3. Mass media Electronics media - Internet 4. If other, ________________
What marketing problems are you facing while you are operating in this business? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In your opinion, what should be done to enhance the active participations of travel agencies and tour operators in sustainable tourism development in and around Bahir Dar? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Thank you once again for your contribution!
Appendix IIV
ለአጥኝው ብቻ የተተዎ__________
የገበያ ሰትራቴጂ ጥናት ዘላቂ የ ቱሪዝም እድገትን/ ልማትን በባህር ዳር እና አካባቢው
ለ ማሳደግ(በቱሪስቶች የሚሞላ መጠይቅ)
ውድ የጥናቱ ተሳታፊዎችእኔ አቶ አስቻለው አዳነ የተባልኩ በአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ የ ንግድ ስራ ኮሌጅ በ ገበያ አስተዳደር የትምህርት ክፍል ሁለተኛ ዓመት የማስተርስ ዲግሪ ተማሪ ስሆን የመመረቂያ ጽሁፌን የገበያ ሰትራቴጂ ጥናት ዘላቂ የ ቱሪዝም እድገትን/ ልማትን በባህር ዳር እና አካባቢው ለ ማሳደግ በሚል ርዕስ በመስራት ላይ እገኛለሁ፡፡ የጥናቱ አላማም ከላይ ለመግለጽ እንደተሞከረው፤ በ ባህርዳር እና አካባቢዋ የሚገኙ የቱሪት መዳረሻወችን ጥናታዊ በሆነ የገበያ ስትራቴጂ በመቀኘት ዘላቂ የቱሪዝም እድገትን ማምጣት፤ ማስጠበቅ እና ከዘርፉ የሚገኘውን ገቢ በማሳደግ፤ የአካባቢዉን ነዋሪ ገቢ፤ አልፎም የሀገርን ገቢ ማሳደግ እሱንም ለማድረግ የቱሪስቶችን ብዛት ማብዛት/ መጨመር እና ከነሱ የሚገኘውን ልምድ በመጠቀም መዳረሻወቹን በደንበ ማስተዋወቅ ነው፡ ፡ሆኖም ለዚህ ጥናት መሳካት የርስዎ ትብብር-መረጃ-አስተያየትዎ ትልቅ ድርሻ እንዳለው ስለታመነበት ይህን መጠይቅ በመሙላት እንዲተባበሩኝ ስል በትህትና አጠይቃለሁ፡፡ እርስዎ የሚሰጡት መረጃ ለጥናቱ አላማ ብቻ የሚውል ሲሆን፤ ሚስጥርነቱም የተጠበቀ ነው፡፡ ውድ ጊዜዎትን መስዋትአድርገው ሰለተባበሩን በቅድሚያ አመሰግናለሁ፡፡
ለበለጠ መረጃ የሚከተለውን አድራሻ ይጠቀሙ፤
በኢሜል [e-mail] ወይም በተንቀሳቃሽ ስልክ [phone]
ክፍል አንድ፡ ግላዊ መረጃ
ትእዛዝ: እባክዎ በሳጥኑ ዉስጥ የ “X” ምልክት፤ በክፍቱ ቦታ ደግሞ አስተየትዎን ያስፍሩ-
1. ጾታ ወንድ 2. ሴት
2. ዕድሜ፡: 1. ከ 28 በታች 3. 40-50 2. 29-39 4. ከ 50 በላይ
3. የትምህርት ሁኔታ፡ 1. ኢ-መደኛ ትምህርት 3. 2ኛ ዲግሪ እና ከዛ በላይ 2. ዲግሪ / ቢኤ/ቢኤስሲ 4. ሌላ ካለ_________________
4. የጋብቻ ሁኔታ 1. ያላገባ 3. አግብቶ የፈታ 2. ያገባ 4. ሌላ ካለ ____________________
5. ወደዚህ ቦታ ከማን ጋር መጡ ብቻየን 3. ከጉአደኛየ ጋር 5. ሌላ ካለ, ይግለጹ__ ከቤተሰብ ጋር 4. ጥንድ _______________
6. ወርሃዊ የገቢ መጠንዎ በብር ምን ያህል ይሆን ከ 1,000 በታች 3. 2,501-5,000
2 1,000- 2,500 4. ከ 5,000 በላይ
7. የስራ ሁኔታ 1. ተማሪ 3. ጦረተኛ 2. ባለስራ 4. ሌላ ካለ ይግለጹ_____________________
8. የትውልድ ቦታ________________________________
9. በጉብኝት ምን ያህል ጊዜ ይቆያሉ________________________________________________
10. የጉዞዎት አላማ
1. ለመዝናናት/ጉብኝት 4. ለ ስብሰባ 2. ቢዝነስ/ ስራ 5. ሌላ ካለ ይግለጹ _________________ 3. ዘመድ እና ጉአደኛ ለመጠየቅ
ክፍል 2: ቱሪዝም ማርኬቲንግ እና ተዛማጅ ጥያቄወችየቱሪዝም ምርት/ አገልግሎት( Products)
ባለፉት አመታት እርሶ በነበሩበት አካባቢ በምን አይነት መዝናኛወች ተሳትፈዋል? 1. ከቤት ውጭ መዝናኛዎች(አውት ዶር )፣ (እባክዎ ይጥቀሱት)_____________________________ 2. ልዩ ድርጊት(ስፓሻል ኢቭነት) (እባክዎ ይጥቀሱት) ____________________________________ 3. ሙዝየም እና ታሪካዊ ቦታወች (እባክዎ ይጥቀሱት) ___________________________________ 4. ሌላ ካለ (እባክዎ ይጥቀሱት) __________________________________________________
ባህርዳርን እና ኣካባቢዋን ሲጎበኙ በጣም የወደዱት/ያስደሰትዎት/ያረካዎት ነገር ምንድን ነው? _______________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ቢኖር ኖሮ ጉብኝቴ በጣም አሪፍ ይሆንልኝ ነበር የሚሉት ምርት ወይም አገልግሎት ምንድን ነው ?_____________ ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
ተመልሰው ወደመጡበት ሀገር ሲሄዱ ባህርዳርን እና ኣካባቢዋን ለማስታወስ ምን አይነት ምርት መግዛት ይፈልጋሉ? (ከተሰጡት አማራጮች መካከል ከአንድ በላይ መልስ መስጠት ይቻላል፡፡ አልባሳት-ባህላዊ 4. የፋብሪካ ምርቶች
2 የስጦታ ካርድ 5. ቆዳን የሚንከባከቡ ነገሮች 3. እደጥበባት 6. ሌላ ካለ እባክዎ, _____________________
5. ማግኝት ፈልገው ሳያገኙት የቀሩ ምርት ወይም አገልግሎት ምንድን ነው? ______________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
የቱሪዝም ማስታወቂያ (Tourism Promotion )
ከዚህ በታች የተጠቀሱት በቱሪስት መዳረሻወች ማስታወቂያ ዙሪያ የርስዎን መስማማት እና አለመስማማት የሚጠቁሙ ጥያቄወች ሲሆኑ፤ 5 ማለት በጣም እስማማለሁ፣4- እስማማለሁ፤ 3-ገለልተኛ፤ 2- አልስማማም፤1- በጣም አልስማማም ማለት ነው ::
የቱሪዝም ማስታወቂያ (Tourism promotion) 5 4 3 2 1
ስለ ባህርዳር እና ኣካባቢዋ ያገኘሁት መረጃ ከጠበኩት ጋር ተመሳሳይ ነው የአካባቢው ማህበረሰብ ተመልሼ አንድጎበኝ/ እንድምጣ ቦታውን ያስተዋውቃልወደመጣሁበት ስመለስ ስለጎበኘሁት ቦታ ልምዴን ለማውቃቸው አካፍላለሁ ዘመዶቸ እና ለጉአደኞቸ ባህርዳርን እና ኣካባቢዋን እንዲጎበኙ ስለቦታው በደንብ አወራላቸዋለሁ ስለ ባህርዳር እና ኣካባቢዋ መረጃ በምን መንገድ አገኙ? መጽሄት ፡ጋዜጣ የመሳሰሉት- (Printed media) 3. በ ብዙሀን መገናኛ (ማስ ሜድያ)
2. ኤሌክትሮኒክስ - (Internet) 4. ሌላ ካለ____________
2.3 የቱሪዝም ምርት እና አገልግሎት ዋጋ (Tourism Products Price)
ከዚህ በታች የተጠቀሱት የቱሪዝም ምርት እና አገልግሎት ዋጋ የሚመለከቱ ጥያቄወች ሲሆኑ እርስዎ እንዴት ይገልጹታል፡ 5- ማለት ዉድ ፤4-ምንም አይልም/አግባብ ነው ፤3- ገለልተኛ 2- ፤አግባብ አይደለም፤ 1-ውድ አይደለም/ ርካሽ ማለት ነው
የቱሪዝም ምርት እና አገልግሎት ዋጋ (Tourism Products’ Price) 5 4 3 2 1
ከጥራቱ ጋር ሲያወዳድሩት የሆቴል አገልግሎቶችን ዋጋ አንዴት አገኙት? የመዝናኛ ቦታ መግቢያ ዋጋወቹን አንዴት አገኙት? ያስጎብኚ ድርጅቶች ያገልግሎት ዋጋ እዴት አገኙት? የቱሪስት መዳረሻ መግቢያ ዋጋ እንዴት ያዩታል? 2.4 የቱሪዝም ምርት እና አገልግሎት ተደራሽነት -እባክዎን የርስዎን ሃሳብ የሚገልጸው ቦታ ላይ የተለመደውን ምልክት ያድርጉ ፡፡5- ማለት በጣም እስማማለሁ፣4- እስማማለሁ፤ 3-ገለልተኛ፤ 2- አልስማማም፤1- በጣም አልስማማም ማለት ነው ::
የቱሪዝም ምርት እና አገልግሎት ተደራሽነትTourism Products Availability-Distribution 5 4 3 2 1
ሆቴሎች እና አግልግሎት መስጫ ቦታወች በቀላሉ ተደራሽ እና አመች ናቸውበቱሪስት መዳረሻወች አካባቢ የትራንስፖርት አግልግሎት በቀላሉ ተደራሽ ነውምግብ፤ መጠጥ፤ መዝናኛ የመሳሰሉት በቀላሉ ተደራሽ ናቸው ስለ ቱሪስት መዳረሻ ቦታወች፤ ሆቴሎች፤ እና መዝናኛ ቦታወች መረጃ በየቦታው በቀላሉ ይገኛሉ ወደ ባህርዳር በምን አይነት መጉአጉአጃ መጣህ/ሽ? በባስ 3. በቱር ኦፕሬተሮች መኪና
በ አየር መንገድ 4. ሌላ ካለ-------------------------
ክፍል 3፡ በቱሪስት መዳረሻ በታዎች የቱሪዝም ስራ(ፕራክቲስ) ያገኙት አጠቃላይ የደስታ መጠን ምን ይመስላል፤ በርስዎ አስተያየት፡፡ -5-ማለት በጣም ተደስቻለሁ፤ 4- ተደስቻለሁ፤ 3-ገለልተኛ፤ 2-አልተደሰትኩም ፤1- በጣም አልተደሰትኩም
ጥያቄወች5 4 3 2 1
በሆቴል፤ ምግብ ቤቶች(ሬስቶራንት)፤ እና ሎጆች ባሉ አቅርቦቶች በቱር ኦፕሬተሮች እና ኤጀንቶች እኔን ለመርዳት ባላቸው ብቃት እና ተሳሽነትበእደጥበብ/የስጦታ እቃ መሸጫ ሱቆች አቅርቦት በጎበኘኹአቸው ቦታወች ይዘት እና ጥበቃ በቱሪዝም መረጃ ማእከላት የመረጃ አቅርቦት(Tourist Information Center) የቱሪስት መዳረሻ ቦታወች አጠቃላይ መሰረተ ልማት በአጠቃላይ በጎበኙት መዳረሻ የርሶ የደስታ መጠን ምን ይመስላል? በአጠቃላይ ያካባቢው ማህረሰብ እንግዳ አቀባበል፤ የታዘብከው(ሽው) ችግር፤ እናም ዘላቂ የቱሪዝም ልማትን ለማሳደግ ምን መደረግ አለበት ይላሉ? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ለትብብርዎ በድጋሚ አመሰግናለሁ!
Appendix
Interview
Part one Background
1. Your age
2. What is your current level of education?
3. Experience, how long have you been, in this position, in year?
Part two : Questions Related To Tourism Marketing
How do you segment tourists’ destinations and tourists who visit the region in general and Bahir dar in particular?
Who are most of the target market of Bahir Dar and its environs tourist destinations?
What is your current positioning strategy designed to promote Bahir Dar and its environs?
What is the host communities’ interest and commitment toward tourism and destination and what changes would tourism have on host communities?
How do you evaluate the quality of products and services rendered by tourism related business in Bahir Dar and its environs?
Finally, what your office is doing to enhance STD in Bahir Dar and its environs?

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