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Marketing research can be used to explore various aspects of the marketing mix detailed in the marketing plan. Before marketing research can be conducted by a tourism organization it must determine what information it needs from its potential visitors. Marketing research will need to be conducted so that the organization is aware of the many changes in consumer wants and needs. The process will start with qualitative research methods such as focus groups and interviews to explore the nature of the issue. Marketing research on tourism can be conducted by government agencies, academics and tourism service providers. An aspect of tourism that is changing is that visitors who arrive for a specific tourism event want all aspects of the experience to reflect their interest. Social media allows market researchers to understand visitor preferences by reading reviews, following bloggers and watching trends.

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A researcher can use dimensions to adjust research methodologies based on how people in a cultural group will react. When designing research methodology, the culture of the research subjects will affect the type of method chosen. Some tasks may require independent action and types of communication with which members of cultural groups may be uncomfortable. However, visitors from within the same country or even community may have different cultural backgrounds. Misunderstandings can result because while the minority cultural group will certainly be aware of the culture of the majority group, the opposite may not be true. A consideration of ethical issues before research begins can avoid unintentional problems. Social media presents additional ethical challenges as while comments posted are meant for the public, the posters have not agreed to be part of a research study. In tourism marketing research, it will lead to making assumptions about people’s motivation for travel that are inaccurate.

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The research process starts when the tourism, hospitality or event management organization determines what information is needed. A market researcher who is familiar with the tourism industry will understand that the motivation for travel might be even stronger when economic times are difficult. The marketing research question can focus on competitors to learn from their successes and failures. Quantitative research studies gather statistical information and are conducted by another organization, a company or a government agency. Quantitative research is conducted using surveys that can be administered personally or self-administered online. If the organization needs opinions and ideas rather than facts, it will need to conduct qualitative research. Descriptive research is used when the research question is very narrowly focused and asks for facts that describe. Sometimes the organization may develop a research plan that uses both approaches. Social media along with technology have resulted in new methods of conducting traditional research and entirely new research methods.

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The tourism marketing researcher needs to know how to find the correct participants for both qualitative and statistically valid quantitative studies, which starts with developing a profile. Quantitative research methods use random selection techniques. The quality of research findings not only depends on an appropriately chosen research question and methodology. Successful research also depends on choosing the right research participants. Marketing research focuses on determining visitor travel experience desires, which are shaped by demographic characteristics such as gender, age, income, education, family stage, occupation, ethnicity and religious affiliation. Some researchers may feel they do not have the expertise or time to find the appropriate subjects for research. Qualitative research studies use nonrandom sampling methods. Convenience sampling is used when researchers choose as participants any willing and available individuals who have the desired characteristics. One of the advantages of convenience sampling is that it is easy to conduct as it does not involve the time and expense of recruiting a sample.

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Time must be taken to carefully craft the questions so that they are understood correctly by research participants. Rather than focus on writing survey questions, the organization should first consider how the findings from survey research can be used. Tourism, hospitality and event management organizations share research needs. Writing a good question is not as easy as it may first appear. Once the draft survey has been modified it must again be reviewed. It is not unusual for a survey to go through the writing and review process several times. The key to successful survey research is writing the questions so that they obtain the needed information. Survey research can be used to answer questions about visitors to a destination, hotel or event, such as demographic facts or psychographic values, attitudes and lifestyles. With so many people relying on social media, surveys should be used to determine which sites are most popular with different visitor segments.

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The advantage of self-administering is convenience for the research subject. The advantages of using researchers to conduct the survey include helping participants with the survey questions, motivating participation and reaching disenfranchised groups. The organization may decide that it would be best if a researcher or other employee helped with administering the survey in person or over the phone. Mail surveys are usually mailed to the potential participant’s home address. The survey form is usually sent in an envelope that includes the name of the organization so that the receiver will be motivated to open and read the material. Traditional self-administered survey methods include mailing the form to the participant and paper forms that are left on site for visitors to pick up and online forms. There are several advantages to the organization if the decision is made to use a self-administered survey methodology, including cost savings.

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Focus groups are used when organizations need to answer the question of why that includes visitor behavior and desires. The advantage of a focus group is that it allows the exploration of issues in depth. In addition, the interaction between focus group members can spark new ideas. The disadvantages of a focus group are that the results cannot be used to prove facts and their analysis depends on the skill of the moderator. A focus group is not just a conversation but must follow a process. Obtaining useful information requires advance preparation and a skilled moderator. The focus group process involves three stages of preparation, conducting and analysis. The moderator of a focus group needs personal skills and the ability to resolve group conflict. Focus groups are a qualitative research technique that uses participant interaction to uncover consumers’ attitudes, opinions and values. Focus groups can be used to learn what psychographic groups might be interested in the tourism experience.

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Projective techniques can be used to obtain emotional rather than rational responses from research participants. They also have the advantage of allowing the participants to provide information anonymously. Creative tasks are more challenging and include word association, drawing, and program or ad creation. Other projective techniques can be created by the researcher. Both completion and creative tasks can be used in focus groups or in-depth interviews. Projective techniques also allow participants to respond anonymously to sensitive issues. Many projective techniques involve completion tasks, such as giving the participants the task of finishing a sentence, story or cartoon. A projective technique such as drawing is used to get people emotionally involved with the topic. The researcher should create a relaxed setting that communicates to the participants that the exercise will be fun. The steps involved in using projective techniques include deciding upon the method, preparing the materials and testing the procedure.

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Conducting a successful interview requires a skilled researcher. Because of the time needed for an interview, fewer research subjects will be involved. The researcher may find that after conducting a number of interviews, different reasons have arisen in each. All departments in the tourism organization conducting the research should be involved in writing interview questions as each may have a different perspective on a problem. A common reason for not conducting the interview at the tourism organization’s office is that some visitors might find the ambience uninviting or even intimidating. Interviews allow the time to probe deeply to find the true cause of a problem. In-depth interviews conducted with visitors are often used to uncover the source of a problem. In-depth interviews are also used when the researchers need to explore visitor behavior and attitudes in depth. The researcher simply approaches a family group that meets the criteria and asks permission to conduct the interview.

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Social media should be categorized by purpose rather than the names of the individual sites as these will change. The sites used for research must be ones whose information is valid and reliable. There are ethical issues when using online postings on social media that must be considered. Social media research can be used to keep track of fast-changing visitor preferences. Social media allows the exchange of written information, photos and videos directly between people, which is then shared with a wider community. In most social media research, the people generating the data are not aware that they are participating in research. Social media sites continue to change as new sites with better features are developed. As a result, there are always new sites that are popular with users. Sometimes social media research is a first step in developing another research methodology. Tourism organizations post content onto social media to attract the attention of targeted potential visitors.

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All the written material from qualitative research must be organized and labeled as memories will fade. The researcher can do so while making notes on the written transcript. These notes will then be analyzed to find comments that are frequently repeated and therefore are common themes, and those that are unique. After conducting the research, it is now time to analyze the research findings. The excitement of conducting the research is over, and the researchers may be ready to move on to a new project. If the research was a survey that was not done online the organization will be left with a pile of questionnaire forms. Once the research has been completed the researchers will have multiple transcripts of focus groups or interviews. The need to analyze the data should be considered by the researcher as soon as the research is completed.

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This chapter provides legitimacy and context to the report’s contents. After the research is completed and the data analyzed, there is one task left to complete, which is to report the recommendations. The report, which should be both written and oral, ensures that everyone understands the purpose and results of the research. Several types of reports may be written for different types of readers. To ensure that the written report will be read, it should be concise and help the reader by using headings and subheadings. It should be written in an appropriate style for the reader and at the correct language level. The findings and recommendations should also be communicated through either a formal or informal oral report. The recommendations that have resulted from an analysis of the research findings must be presented in both a written report and an oral presentation. The researchers may be reluctant to prepare a written report for a number of reasons.