Tourism is a global phenomenon which has always been in the peoples life since antiquity.

The methods and purposes have changed but in essence it is still the same- going around and visiting places of interest for a range of purposes. Although the activity of touring, as one might say, is still almost the same; there have been innumerable changes in the choice of destinations, mode of transportations, motivation and purposes of visiting places and so forth. There have been changes in the taste and motivation of the customers so much even in last few decades that it is imperative for the tourism marketers to analyze all the variables that are in play to gain a complete understanding of the customers and market the products efficiently. It is a multifaceted industry where the consumers have to be brought forth to the products itself; in comparison to manufacturing industries products, where the products can be distributed to close vicinity of the consumers. This seemingly handicapped situation of the tourism industrys products gives rise to the utmost importance of marketing for the tourism products- ranging from destinations, accommodations, food and beverage facilities to transportation modes and so on. When we are talking about marketing the product to the customer, the obvious topic that comes into mind is that of communication mix and its elements. Communication mix is used to reach the customers and provide them accurate information about the product that would create value for the product in the mind of the customers. In this term paper, we are going to analyze the communication mix of tourism products of Bangladesh and will try to find out which parts of the communication mix are actually being used by the contemporary tourism industry leaders.

Communication Mix
The Communication Mix consists of a set of communications tools, which marketers use to communicate with their target markets. The elements of the mix differ in their ability to influence and affect target markets. It is therefore important to understand the real utility as well as limitations of each communication tool. In many ways, the marketing communication mix is the heart of the marketing strategy around which everything else in sales and marketing is predicated. If business consists of creating value and creating customers, communication mix covers exactly how the business is going to create customer by taking value message to the market. The major elements of the communication mix are: Advertising Sales Promotion PR (public and press relation) Personal Selling Merchandising Packaging

Now lets draw some detailed insights about each of these elements:

Advertising
This is the mass media method of marketing communication and provides exposure to the largest, most geographically dispersed audience at the lowest cost per head. That being said,

advertising costs can add up quickly with mediums like television, radio and even online advertising which can be prohibitively expensive for many businesses.

Other traditional forms of paid advertising include newspapers and magazines, the Yellow Pages, billboards, signs and posters. As well, advertising on buses, benches, gas pumps and even public restrooms is in vogue today. Basically, any medium which provides an opportunity to target "eyes and/or ears" can be a venue for advertising.

Sales Promotion
Sales promotion simply refers to purchase incentives that are provided to the customers. These can assume a number of forms including offering free goods or services, coupons and vouchers, gifts and prizes, discounts, samples, financial incentives, charitable promotions and any other value-add over and above the standard product or services.

Sales Promotions are generally short-lived; "one off" incentives intended to provide consumers with that last "push" to buy. The main takeaway is that regardless of the size and type of the business, the marketer should continually look at ways in which to create additional value for customers. Customers will appreciate it and, in facts, customers have been shown to pay premium prices for real value and real service.

PR
This refers to how the marketer handles the relationships and the flow of information with various "publics" or the people who have a stake in or are affected by the business. This includes the general public, consumers, shareholders, employees, partners, competitors and the government.

PR becomes a more and more crucial element of the marketing communication mix as a business or organization grows larger. That being said, it is still a vital component of the marketing communication process to think about for smaller businesses as well. PR tools include press and media releases, lobbying, charitable and public events, advertorials, financial reports, promotional collateral, facility tours, sponsorships, interviews and any other method for the promotion of a positive image to people.

Personal Selling
This is the most dreaded as well as the most expensive of all methods in the marketing communication process. However, if it is a small business or otherwise has the ability to personally sell and build relationships with customers; it can be one of the most rewarding aspects of the marketing process, both personally and professionally. The whole objective is to ascertain needs and create the best solution for customers. Along the way the marketer builds relationships and continues to gather information about how customers can be better served which is the reason for being in business in the first place.

Packaging
Packaging is the attractively designed and printed outer wrapper of consumer goods (particularly) which with the brand name helps to identify the product and attract the attention of potential customers. Work involves decisions on the design, layout, number of colors used, size and type of print etc.

Merchandising
It involves a special display of the product, in carefully selected positions in a shop, supported by attractive posters, banners, display cards etc. and sometimes pretty girls. For tour operators, the layout of their packages in the brochure and supporting photographs fulfill this function. With

travel agents, the display of posters and brochures and friendly, cheerful staff fulfill that function. The first three elements of the communication mix- advertising, sales promotion and PR are also known as promotional activities. Given below are some popular promotional activities used in Bangladesh: Name of the Promotional Activity Advertising Hotels, Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Airlines, Motor Coach Companies Brochures/ Catalogues Hotels, Tour Operators, Travel Printed brochures designate Agents the attractions of the hotels or the various packages in case of tour operators and travel agents Point-of-Sale Advertising Travel Agents, Hotels Posters, floor and displays, banners, related wall decorations etc. Company Visits Few resorts, i.e.- Jamuna Resort Sends sales persons to different corporate houses to attract business clientele Free gifts Hotels In the form of hotel amenities Mainly through Newspapers. Who are using it? How are they using it?

Incentive Schemes

Hotels, Tour Operators, i.e.different hotels in Coxs Bazaar

Financial incentives are given to agents and the local rickshaw pullers who bring guests for the hotel in Coxs Bazaar

Off-premises displays

Hotels, Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Airlines

Various national level travel fairs and exhibitions Press briefings, public relation through various public related activities, i.e. - our departments orientation program given by The Westin, was a PR activity.

PR(public and press relations)

Hotels, Airlines

Price Reductions

Hotels, Airlines, Travel Agents, Tour Operators

Prices of the products are reduced in off season to attract customers

Special Offers

Hotels

Hotels offer special offers like, 3 nights in the price of 2 or other offers to special customers.

Table 1: Promotional Activities used in Bangladesh

The Buying Decision

When a consumer decides to buy a product or service to obtain satisfaction of some sort (ownership, use or consumption) expenditure of money is involved. So the buying decision is taken with care and sometimes, reluctance. The buying decision for tourism as well as other products follows a distinct process. This process has four stages:

Felt Need

Information Gathering and Evaluation

Decisions

Buying Decisions

Figure 1: The Buying Decision Process for Tourism

Now, we will analyze an imaginary situation where an Indian tourist is considering visiting Bangladeshs Coxs Bazaar sea beach for a weekend. Lets see what things he is considering while initiating his buying process: Stage Decisions Considerations and Influences Stage 1: Felt Need The general desire to see the longest sea beach in the world General travel motivations: rest & relaxation sea, sun & sand

When to travel- normally between November to April

Stage 2: Information Gathering & Evaluation

Study of catalogues, consulting travel agents and friends

Suggestion from tour operators and travel agents, advice from friends or relatives who have visited Bangladesh, specifically Coxs Bazaar

Stage 3: Decision

On destination travel mode: preferably commercial

Previous experience- if any, image of suppliers and advice

airlines, Accommodation: can from middlemen be selected from a range of hotels in Coxs Bazaar, Timing: preferable between November to April Stage 4: Buying Decisions Reservation confirmation by travel agents, obtain currencyairports money exchange or bank.
Table 2: The Buying Decision Process of an Indian Tourist Visiting Bangladesh

Bank, shops and stores, Advice from friends and other experts.

Buyer-Seller Motivation
The motivations that we are going to list in the next table influence the sellers on the extent and thoroughness of the market coverage they will undertake. For example, a drive for greater sales volume will require coverage of many market segments from the seller. The customers motivations will indicate what market coverage and product-market mix are most likely to succeed. Given below are some motivational factors that drive the tour operators, travel agents and customers:

Name of the Party Tour Operators

Travel Agents

Key Motivational Factors improved profit margins sales volume and good repeat business low cost distribution acceptable rate of return maximum attention to its products by retailers product component reliability products that motivate retailers to sell them and consumers to buy them minimizing risk avoiding novelty- keep to accepted products good profit margins good sales volume image: of itself and tour operators regular product innovation maximum range of products and service good service from tour operators and other principals

The Customer

anticipation and expectation stimuli product knowledge product variety with some new products minimum waste of time in negotiations help in evaluating alternatives and making decisions competent staff which are helpful and pleasant minimum form filling individual attention and identification

Table 3: Key Buyer-Seller Motivation Factors

Personal Selling
Personal selling is the personal presentation of a tangible product or intangible service or idea to potential customers. It is supported by the promotional activities mentioned at the beginning of this term paper. Although a very important marketing tool for many products in many countries, personal selling is almost nonexistent in Bangladeshs tourism industry. We chose and asked a focus group of 25 university students aged between 21-23 years about their experience about personal selling of tourism related products in our country; none of them could provide us with any information whatsoever about this technique used in real life in Bangladesh.

Advertisement
Advertising has been defined as a paid form of non-personal presentation of a product or service by an identified sponsor. It uses paid space in media, i.e. - newspaper, magazines, posters and direct mail; and paid media time, i.e. - commercial television and radio; to get its message across to the target market. It has mainly three aims:

tells potential customers about the existence of the product reminds customers of its existence for repeat business seeks to regain lost customers

Figure 2: Three major aims of advertisement

Selecting the right media for a target market is important if the campaign is to be successful. It is generally not left to eager amateurs. The assistance and advice of experts (from advertising agencies) are sought to help the campaign reach its target. But in the tourism industry of our country no such agencies were found to exist that lends professional help to the companies. In the next table, listed are the media available in our country and the usage of them in tourism industrys advertisements: Name of the Media Example Used in Tourism Products Advertisements or Not Newspapers (National/Regional/Local) Technical Press (technical magazines & newspapers) Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, The New Age etc. Bangladesh Monitor Yes; infrequently by hotels and travel agents. Yes; frequently by hotels, travel agents, tour operators and airlines Magazines (general interest or special interest) Commercial Television Canvas, e-Biz, Holiday, PC World etc. NTV, ATN Bangla, BanglaVision, ETV etc. Commercial Radio Radio Today, Radio Foorti, Radio Amar etc. Poster Sites Outdoors generally, at transport terminals etc. Cinema & Theaters Star Cineplex, Balaka, Modhumoti etc.
Table 4: Names of the Media and usage of them in Advertisement for Tourism Products

Very infrequently by hotels

No

No

No

No

Sales Promotion
While advertising aims at a steady long-term improvement in sales with the growth held when the campaign ends, sales promotions are short-term activities. They seek to boost sales at peak demand periods to ensure the firm obtains its market share and are used to help launch a new product or support an ailing or modified one. In the below figure the sales promotion tools for tourism industry and the users of them in Bangladesh are given:

Brochures Point-of-Sale Display

travel agents tour operators hotels Travel Agents

Direct Mail Material

not used in Bangladesh

Figure 3: Sales Promotion Tools and their users in Bangladesh

Public & Press Relations (PR)

PR has been defined as deliberate, planned and sustained efforts to establish and maintain mutual understanding between a firm and its various publics, customers, financiers, investors, employees as well as the media. In tourism it is also used to educate the customers and travel trade on the products and services available, in particular new ones, and to improve their knowledge of other countries, people, cultures resorts and destinations. In Bangladesh, PR is generally limited between press conferences arranged by airlines introducing their new flight routes or new planes or hotels introducing their new state-of-the-art amenities and services.

Some Suggestions and Recommendations for the Promotional Activities for Tourism Products:
More Variation should be brought in the promotional activities in the tourism sector of Bangladesh: Now-a-days number of internet users is increasing day by day, so direct mailing needs to be introduced in our country for promotion of tourism products. When people reach at a destination they use transportation, so vehicle livery will work well for promoting tourism product in our country. Call centers are now working as a promotional source in Bangladesh, so tourism products can be promoted by telephone selling.

Benefits of the non existing forms of promotional activities: Promotional works will be easier To reach more customers To present the products in best possible ways that will meet demand To make the company more well known To increase repeated visits of guests To understand the customer needs in a better way To provide unique service than that of other competitors