Database Marketing In Travel And Tourism.

Abstract

An increasing number of organisations are developing customer databases in a bid to get closer to their customers and gain competitive advantage. This report investigates the practice of database marketing among different travel and tourism sectors, including airlines, hotels, museums and tour operators, and draws on UK and international examples. It compares direct marketing and database marketing and examines the different levels of sophistication at which database marketing can be practiced, the role of customer loyalty schemes, the ways in which a database can be segmented, the role of consumer data profiling companies and current developments in database marketing. The use of database marketing for customer retention and business acquisition is also investigated. In order to ensure true customer relationship building it is vital for the industry to leverage the information on their databases and provide customer recognition through the delivery of personalised service. Business acquisition through customer retention is likely to be a key strategy in future through the use of data-mining and cross-selling techniques. The report concludes that organisations must create a new marketing environment by moving away from transaction marketing towards the principles of customer relationship management.