Introduction
This essay critically evaluates two research papers related to the tourism industry. These two papers are “National marketing strategies in international travel and tourism” (Riege and Perry, 2000) and “Why people travel to exotic places” (Correia, Oom do Valle and Moco, 2007). The first paper uses qualitative research methodology to come up with marketing strategies while the second one uses quantitative research methodology to understand the motives behind tourism. Although, the two papers seem to be on completely different topics, both of them eventually address marketing-related issues of tourism.
Research Question
For Reige and Perry (2000), the choice of their subject was easy as their research found that several authors feel a lack of detailed work as far as a strategy in travel and tourism marketing and distribution is concerned. According to the author, travel and tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world and employs 1 out 16 employees worldwide, it makes sense to study marketing strategies that can help known tourist destinations attract more tourists. The paper fills this important gap in the study of tourism marketing and the authors explain in detail the reasons for choosing Australia and New Zealand. The authors attempt to develop a guide for marketing and distribution strategies for the public and private tourism organizations in Australia and New Zealand. The strategies are aimed at the tourists in UK and Germany.
The paper by Correia, Oom do Valle, and Moco (2007) attempts to answer the question of why people travel to certain exotic locations. In the paper, they try to understand the motivations for going to a tourist destination and how the travelers perceive the tourist destination, as they try to answer the question. The paper attempts to find answers to these questions by carrying out surveys among outbound Portuguese tourists.
The two papers attempt to answer completely different questions, but they both can help marketers develop suitable marketing strategies for the countries studied. While the first paper sets out to come up with marketing strategies, the second paper is more interested in the motives, which can then be used by marketers for forming strategies.
Proposed Methodological Approach
Reige and Perry (2000) propose to use the qualitative research methodology. In an elaborate justification for using the qualitative research methodology, they explain that since strategic travel and tourism marketing is not a well-understood phenomenon the qualitative methods will help them understand the strategies currently used by marketers, and based on them they can formulate a universal marketing strategy for the UK and German markets. The other reasons they give for using the qualitative method include the posing of the “how” question, that the researchers have little control over the events, and the study of a contemporary phenomenon with some real-life context (Yin, 1994). They also explain that the case study method will help them get an in-depth understanding of the situations based on the practitioners’ rich experiences. This is in line with the various literature on qualitative research methods which advise on using this methodology when the past research has proved inconclusive (Marshall and Rossman, 1980) and the informants know more about the research question than the researchers (Spradley, 1979).
Correia, Oom do Valle, and Moco (2007) propose to use the quantitative research method for their study, which is based on the push-pull motive model. At the beginning of their study, they formulate three hypotheses linking push motives, pull motives, and perception. The hypotheses are based on a literature review and show a thorough understanding of the previous literature. Correia, Oom do Valle, and Moco (2007) hope to construct a statistical model of the tourists’ motives and test their hypotheses. However, since the paper tries to study the motivations of tourists and this is not something the researchers are likely to have prior knowledge of, the qualitative method could also have been used with perhaps better results. Motives are also not objective quantities (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992), but rather a subjective issue, and hence qualitative research would have better served the researchers purpose. Correia, Oom do Valle and Moco (2007) have found that most existing literature on motives of tourists is based on expectancy value theory. Hence based on their literature review, Correia, Oom do Valle and Moco (2007) have used a similar strategy in their research.
As far as the proposed research method is concerned, the main difference between the two papers is that while Reige and Perry (2000) take great pains to defend the use of qualitative method, Correia, Oom do Valle and Moco (2007) do not justify their choice of research method but explain in details their selected research methodology. Correia, Oom do Valle and Moco (2007) do not justify their choice of research methodology, and since their study is regarding motives, which is an objective subject, it is suggested that their research would have been better served by the use of qualitative method.
Research Methodology
Reige and Perry (2000) use the case study methodology, a well known qualitative method. To ensure robustness of their research, they use multiple case studies as has been suggested by Yin (1994). Nineteen case studies are selected in a manner so that they either predict similar findings or produce contrasting findings for predictable reasons (Yin, 1994). This replication over several cases gives confidence to the researchers and also provides validity to the research. The nineteen cases were selected from four countries (Australia, New Zealand, UK and Germany) and included both public and private organizations. The case studies were developed using an in-depth interview approach. These interviews were carried out with at least two respondents from each organization. Thus, looking at the variety and the large number of organizations covered and people interviewed, it can be safely said that the authors followed an extremely rigorous qualitative research approach and their research can not be faulted for not being extensive enough.
Correia, Oom do Valle and Moco (2007) have used the quantitative methodology for their research. According to Glesne and Peshkin (1992), quantitative research begins with hypothesis and theories and this paper also starts with the authors putting forward three hypotheses. These hypotheses are based on the interaction of the push motives, pull motives and perceptions and are tested in their study. The hypotheses they formulate are “Push motives lead to different pull motives”, “the overall perception of the destination depends on the evaluation of the pull motive” and “different push motives lead to different perceptions” (Correia, Oom do Valle and Moco, 2007, P49). Once again, as is customary with the quantitative research method, surveys were used to test these hypotheses. Since the hypotheses were based on the interaction of pull motives, push motives and perceptions, the survey had three parts, each attempting to measure one of these measures. The push and pull motives were directly derived from the reviewed literature. Authors used seven point Likert-type scale for assessing the motive and perceptions. A Likert-type scale consists of several statements and the respondent is asked to respond to these statements based on how much they agree or disagree with the statement. The scale has many advantages such as it is easy to construct, is reliable and can be easily used for empirical test. However, it also has certain limitations, such as, while it can tell whether the respondents are more or less favourable to a topic, it cannot tell how much more or less favourable they are (Kothari, 2005). The adoption of this scale was also based on a suggestion from the literature reviewed.
The statistical data analysis conducted by the authors is extremely thorough and has three main stages to ensure accuracy. The first stage used Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the pertinence of PCA at this stage was mathematically checked using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. This shows a painstaking regard for details and accuracy and the authors’ diligence needs to be acknowledged. The second stage of statistical an analysis involved estimating a structural equation model to assess the research hypotheses. Once again this analysis was done using software. Using computer software to carry out the analysis part of the research makes it less prone to human errors and hence more reliable. They also use the weighted least squares estimation method, which is distribution free and not sensitive to the non-normality of data. Thus the authors’ used a very comprehensive system of statistical analysis which had inbuilt checks and double-checks to avoid any errors. This meticulous attention to details while doing the statistical analysis also helps take care of any errors which might have occurred at the survey level. Thus the long drawn statistical analysis method employed by the authors can be considered one of the strengths of their research method. In the final stage of the statistical analysis relationships between the push factors, pull factors and the perceptions was established. This was in keeping with the original hypothesis. Thus both the papers have adopted the best practices in carrying out the research in their chosen methods.
Reliability, Validity and Ethics
Reige and Perry (2000) have also successfully addressed the issue of reliability and validity. According to Lincoln and Guba (1985) reliability is synonymous with dependability, stability, consistence, predictability and accuracy and Cho and Trent (2006) define validity in qualitative research as the degree to which researchers’ claims about knowledge correspond to reality. Reige and Perry (2000) use a large number of case studies to achieve the triangulation of data. They also had the draft of the case studies reviewed and confirmed by the interviewees. Thus they used the member checking (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) technique and the triangulation technique to establish validity of their research. Getting the case studies reviewed by the interviewees also takes care of the ethical issues as it ensures that the researchers report the interviews exactly as the interviewees intended it to be.
Correia, Oom do Valle and Moco (2007) use Cronbach’s α coefficient to give the survey the necessary reliability and self validate the survey results (Brown, 2001). Cronbach’s α coefficient exceeds 0.8 in all cases, which shows a high degree of reliability. The paper does not address ethical issues. The survey was carried out on a sample of 1097 tourists who were surveyed on their way to a tourist destination. This would mean easy recall for the responders and hence more accuracy of the survey results. Although, the authors cite ease of sampling for conducting these surveys on flight, it also has the above mentioned added advantage for the survey results. Thus both the papers successfully tackle the issue of reliability and validity using the accepted methods of their respective research methodology. Neither of the two papers addresses the issue of ethics. However, Reige and Perry (2000) got their case studies cross-checked by the interviewees, thus taking care of the ethical angle to a certain extend.
Results and Conclusion
Coming to the results and conclusion, Riege and Perry (2000) have used a three dimensional approach to examining the marketing and distribution strategies for tourism organizations and come up with strategies which can be used as a guide. The proposed strategies are enlisted by the authors in the form of a table and are presented in a way that anyone can immediately find the suggested strategies given the situation. Since the scope of the article is limited to just two countries, UK and Germany, the results also reflect this limitation. However, within this limited scope, the authors have come up with comprehensive strategies for different situations. The strategies themselves cover just about every possible scenario and if anything is left, it is not immediately obvious. While most of the suggested strategies are tried and tested some of them can be considered unique such as developing a charter airline market. Thus evaluating this paper on its ability to answer the question it had originally set out to answer, it is found that the paper is more than successful in answering all the questions and comes up with practical strategies which can be directly applied to businesses.
The quantitative method used by Correia, Oom does Valle and Moco (2007) reveal some interesting facts about the tourist mindset. For example, among the push motives, the desire for increased knowledge was the most important factor, followed by leisure and than socialization. Similarly, among the pull motives, the weather and natural environment turned out to be the most important criteria in deciding the destinations for most tourists. After carrying out several mathematical manipulations with the data, the authors were able to establish a relationship between the pull and push factors and perception.
For example they established that there is a strong relationship between the push and pull and factors but the relationships is more fragile in the case of perceptions and pull factors. Based on this quantitative analysis, the authors concluded that the push factors determine the pull factors, which in turn determines perceptions. Thus the authors use quantitative analysis to come up with theories regarding human nature. Based on these theories they have come up with marketing implications such as marketing the core attraction and facilities of a tourist destination rather than beautiful landscape. Thus the study contributes to the overall understanding of tourist behaviour. When judging these conclusions against the original question, which in this case was “why people travel to exotic places”, the authors have successfully answered the question. Thus both the papers answer the question they had originally asked.
Comparison and Contrast
The two papers started out trying to answer different questions and used different research methodology. They both ended up giving useful strategic advice on marketing of tourist destinations.
The study using the qualitative approach was holistic and took into account a number of scenarios. However, they limited their study to just two markets. As the authors have themselves mentioned, Germany and UK being the most important markets for Australia and New Zealand, these results cannot be extrapolated to other markets. In view of this, had the research included a couple of other markets, they could have come up with an even more holistic marketing strategy covering all kinds of markets. Similarly, the second study was limited to studying the Portuguese tourists. Checking the findings against the tourists from a few other countries will help marketers come up with a universal strategy for marketing tourist destinations.
Conclusion and Suggestions
The two papers restricted their research to specific geographic areas. In case of Reige and Perry (2000), the paper itself says the results cannot be extrapolated to other countries. Studying a few more countries, which were more representative and less country specific would have better served their research. Similarly, Correia, Oom do Valle and Moco (2007) have limited their research to the behaviour of Portuguese tourists. Studying tourist behaviour in other countries could have helped them come up with a more generic marketing advice which could be successfully used in all situations.
Another issue with the Correia, Oom do Valle and Moco (2007) paper is that they have not justified the use of quantitative method. The paper studies motives and motives are objective, rather than subjective. So based on Glesne & Peshkin (1992), using qualitative research method is superior to quantitative to get a better result. Also, neither of the two papers address the ethical issues. In case of Correia, Oom do Valle and Moco (2007), it is unknown if the respondents to the survey were aware of the purpose of the survey and if their consent (Miles and Huberman, 1994) was taken to use the survey for the research.
In summary, both the qualitative as well as the quantitative research methods were successful in coming up with useful strategies for marketers. The methodology used in both the papers was comprehensive and followed the rules of the chosen research method and hence there is not much scope for improvement in this department.
References
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