Guest Column:
Standing Out In The Crowded Tourism Market
By Todd Comen, Associate Professor, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Johnson State College, Vermont, USA.

As the gap between ecotourism, soft adventure travel and conventional mass tourism continues to close, it becomes ever more important for ecotourism operators to differentiate their products through effective positioning strategies. By taking stock of emerging trends in how consumers purchase travel products, ecotourism providers will understand how to better develop reliable and legitimate products and how to position the products in the croweded tourism marketplace. Even in the iconic ecotourism destination of Monteverde, Costa Rica, it seems as though “soft adventure attractions have begun to displace ecotourism activities as the main attraction.”(1) To further complicate this new reality, trends in consumer behavior paint a picture of less predictable purchasing patterns. In this article I will offer suggestions that may help ecotourism businesses develop solutions to some of the important emerging travel trends.

Emerging Trends

Three significant consumer trends are having a dramatic impact on the travel market, according to Peter Yesavich of YPBR, Inc., a market researcher who has tracked the travel sector for over two decades. Yesavich has identified “cheap is chic”, “customization”, and “togethering” as three powerful emerging trends that have begun to change how people choose travel experiences.(2) Travelers, according to Yesavich, are not in a financial position to pay late 1990’s prices. They do, however, still have the same high expectations of the late ‘90s and therefore require great customer service and unique product offerings. These expectations, along with relatively low prices, are being met today in the very competitive sector of low cost airlines, cruise lines and all-inclusive resorts. A parallel trend, on the other hand, involves customization. Since travelers are increasingly interested in unique experiences, and since consumers are accustomed to customization in a wide variety of products and services, today’s travelers are willing to pay more for customized travel experiences. Travelers can now employ technology to customize their vacation experience by selecting options prior to arrival such as activities, dining experiences, and room types. Finally, since September 11th, people are increasingly likely to choose vacations during which they can build meaningful personal relationships with family and friends. This trend Peter Yesavich has labeled “togethering.”

Ecotourism can – and to some extent already is -- addressing these current trends in three ways: by offering a range of pricing options, from budget to luxury experiences, by offering a variety of new products such as yoga, spas, and authentic cuisine, and, most importantly, by offering intimate, close up, high quality, and memorable experiences with nature, host communities, and their fellow travelers. However, a further unsettling of the market is taking root.

The conundrum

Not long ago any marketing expert would have said that the market for ecotourism is completely different than the market for the cruise or resort industry; today that is simply not the case. Travel expert, Stanley Plog, of NFO/Plog Research, in his 2004 book Leisure Travel: A Marketing Handbook,(3) suggests that more often than is commonly assumed, consumers of travel products cross lines between conventional, soft adventure travel, and ecotourism. While characteristically ecotourism’s emphasis on small groups and intimate traveling has long met the demand for “togethering”, its current challenge is how to compete with the bargain prices and array of choices being offered by the mass tourism sector such as the cruise industry and inclusive resorts.

The emerging conundrum for ecotourism providers, then, is that consumers comparing a cruise vacation and an ecotour may be one and the same. According to the American Traveler Survey conducted by NFO/Plog Research, the profile of the cruise consumer is quite similar to that of the ecotourist. Indeed, according to Plog, “more than any segment of the travel industry, cruising has changed its audience over the years. The more venturesome the individual, the more likely that he or she has cruised or is planning a future cruise.”(4) The venturesome type described by Plog is also likely to seek soft adventure travel or ecotourism more than the dependable segment that Plog also describes.

The Solution: Effective Positioning

If an ecotourism enterprise develops an effective market position, there is no way that it will be confused with a cruise or an all-inclusive resort vacation. In today’s tourism marketplace, common features abound such as beautiful scenery, guide services, fun activities, and authentic cuisine. The focus of the ecotour product and the ensuing marketing strategy must be on the internal emotional elements driving the consumer to travel rather than on the external features of the product and services. The internal needs for travel driving the consumers decision making process are likely worlds apart for those choosing a cruise and those choosing an ecotourism experience. It is in this arena that the ecotourism provider can compete with the contemporary offerings of the cruise lines and all-inclusive resorts. Internal drivers for a potential ecotourist may be the need for connection to the earth, the need to build relationships in small groups, the need to support social and environmental causes, the need to relieve stress through exercise and relaxation, the need for physical challenge, and the need for intellectual stimulation.
When a business is able to differentiate itself from the competition, it gains market position by establishing a unique place in the consumers mind.

Identifying exactly what the consumer is seeking in a travel experience can result in building an effective foundation for the tourism product. Therefore, the relationship between a business and its customers begins in the product development stage. During product development, it is vitally important to consider what the customer requires from a travel experience and build in products and services that match those requirements. Core requirements include for example, safety, caring service, a good night’s sleep, and memorable experiences. Requirements of ecotourists may also include meaningful educational experiences, close contact with nature, authentic cuisine, and interaction with the host community. When the marketing message highlights benefits that address these internal needs, the ecotourism provider is addressing the myriad of emerging trends in consumer behavior.

To address current consumer travel trends, ecotourism operators need to audit their products and services, including reviewing pricing structures, mix of activities, personnel competencies, and product quality. A shift in marketing messages may be essential since past practices have focused on nature and exotic species rather than on building relationships with people, customization or sense of value. This will bring ecotourism operations into alignment with emerging travel trends while staying focused on the core attributes of an ecotourism product.

While ecotourism is still a relatively small niche market and needs to differentiate itself clearly from mass tourism and soft adventure travel, the demand for ecotourism is broader than is commonly recognized. To capture this wider tourism market, the ecotourism provider must pay attention to emerging trends while simultaneously delivering authentic experiences and a tourism product steeped in the core principles and practices of ecotourism. Through effective positioning, ecotourism enterprises will have the opportunity to clearly stand out from those tourism enterprises trying to greenwash their way into the ecotourism marketplace.

(1) From a presentation by Nat Scrimshaw, Director of the Monteverde Institute at the University of Vermont, April 27, 2004.

(2) From a speech by Peter Yesavich presented at the 2004 International Hotel and Restaurant Show in New York City. For information on Peter Yesavich see the website of YPBR.Com.

(3) Leisure Travel: A Marketing Handbook, By Stanley C. Plog. Published by Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004.

(4) Leisure Travel: A Marketing Handbook, By Stanley C. Plog. Published by Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. p. 79