Ecological approach to tourism marketing

Ecological approach to tourism marketing

Jost Krippsndorf

This article describes the changing composition of the tourist population and the changing aims and lifestyles of the more important market sectors. People are becoming more determined to derive satisfaction from all areas of life, and travel must provide something extra to attract the potential tourist away from a fulfilling job and pleasurable home life. Tourism marketing will have to become more environment-orientated and socially responsible. An ecologically-minded tourism industry will safeguard its prospects for growth in the 1990s and 21st century.

Keywords: ‘new tourist’; natural environment: tourism marketing

How can we get from extensive to intensive travel, from devouring miles to lingering, from ticking off items in the travel guide to stopping and thinking, from rush to leisure, from aggressive and destructive to creative communication, from camera-wearing idiots to people with the third eye?

I believe these are the important and burning issues. For we are all looking for meaning and humanity.’

Fundamental changes are taking place in the tourism market scene which make a new conception of tourism and a new marketing of tourism absolutely necessary. Two new forces will regulate the market:

the ‘new consumer’ (new tourist) and the growing role of his value-judgment as against that of the producer, ie the producer will be forced to consider consumer needs much more than he did in the past; and the ‘new autochthonous’ - the increasing assertiveness of the native population in the tourist region and more restrictive attitudes towards tourism.’

This article deals only with the new tourist - trends in motivation, behaviour and consciousness. There are three main factors of change with repercussions for tourism:

l changes in lifestyle;

Jost Krippendorf is Professor at the University of Brrne, Switzerland.

l changes in demographic structure; and l changes in economic conditions.

Changes in lifestyle

In connection with the continuing profound social and economic changes, three different streams of lifestyle may be distinguished with partly different values and be- haviour. (The borders between the groups are floating, the same individual can easily belong to a different group at different moments of time.)>

The first group includes those individuals for uhom work is still the focus of life. They live for nork. Leisure and tourism are of secondary importance and serve mainly to restore and regenerate the working force. The tourism motivations of these people are the following:

l recover - rest, doing nothing, passivity, being served,

switching off; and l liberation - no duties, no worries, no problems.

This work-orientated attitude belongs mainly to the lifestyle of the older generation - the industrial tourist generation - and it still dominates in economical and political decisions, although it is becoming quantitatively less important. By the year 2000 only about 10% of individuals will belong to this lifestyle group (cf lO%-20% in 1986).

The second and third lifestyle groups will produce what could be called the new post-industrial tourist generation. The second group of individuals has a hedonistic lifestyle. One works in order to live - profession is equated with ‘job’. Life takes place during leisure time. Leisure and tourism are felt as a counterpart to the everyday-life (polarisation of work and leisure). Tourism is the most intensive form of leisure life. Tourism motivations include:

l experience something different, explore, have a change;

l have fun, enjoy oneself, play; l being active, together with others; l relaxation without stress, do as one pleases; and

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Ecological approach to tourism marketing

l nature, enjoying proximity with nature and intact

environment.

This mobility-orientated and consumption-orientated

second group is the most important group in 1956. Its share in the year 7000 will be between 45%-60% (cf 60%

in 1986). The third lifestyle group could be described as ‘the new

unity of everyday-life’. People belonging to this group want to reduce the polarity between work and leisure and are looking for fulfilment throughout all sectors of life. Enjoyment and satisfaction with life are possible during working time (humanized working conditions) and at home (habitable cities) - all in a more coiourful everyday- life. Tourism motivations include:

l broaden one’s horizon, learn something; l introspection and communication with other people; l come back to simpler things and to nature; l creativity, open-mindedness; and l readiness for experiments.

The share of this group in the year 2000 will rise to about 30%45% compared with 20%-30% in 1956. This group has the biggest growth potential for the Zlst century.

Changes in demographic structure

Three major changes are occurring in demographic

structure:

l growth of the consumption-orientated segment of the ‘singles’ up to 35 years old;

l the new active consciousness of the woman around 40; and

l the active young senior citizens of 50 and over.’

The segment of 50 to 65 year-olds is the fastest growing

segment of all.

Changes in economic conditions

Most of the scenarios of future development assume that we will dispose of much more free time possibly combined with a stagnation in income or even reduced disposable income.’ This means a tendency towards a restricted budget for tourism also.

Consequences for marketing in tourism

There are many marketing consequences, especially in connection with this post-industrial generation of tourists who - apart from the described changes in motivation - will be:

l better educated; l more travel-experienced; and l quantitatively more and more important compared to

the slowly dying industrial tourist generation.

The market is shifting from manipulated, uncritical ‘old tourists’ to mature, critical and emancipated new tour- ists’.

TOURISM MANAGEMENT June 1987

One policy which will have to be included for new tourism marketing is the necessity for a more environment-orientated and socially responsible tourism marketing. If the trends in the motivations of the ‘new tourists’ are combined with the interests of the new

autochthonous’, the urge for a more environment-

orientated tourism marketing comes out first.

In FR Germany, already one third of the population belongs to the category of highly environment-conscious people, and the share is growing rapidly. This is an immense potential and target group for new tourism marketing:

The marketer puts an accent on what he is doing himself in favour of the preservation of nature and environment. The marketer appeals directly to the sense of responsi- bility of these environment-conscious people and asks them to participate actively in keeping nature unspoiled (behaviour code). He takes them at their own word. The environment is scarce and thus a luxury good and consumption must be restricted. This extracts a price in self-discipline, respect - and money. The marketer and the consumers have to be ready to pay this price. The marketer has to prove that he is willing to pay the price .’

Ecology is long-term economy - especially in tourism.

Humanized travel

In The Holiday People Krippendorf has developed diffe- rent strategies for the humanization of travel. There follow some extracts from the chapter referring to tourism marketing:

Opt for an honest and responsible marketing of tourism

This demand is addressed to all those who organize. offer. sell and inform about travel - what we might call ‘the producers of holidays’. Even if they are reluctant to accept the fact, it is certainly true that many of them - especially the most powerful among their members - have an incomparably greater influence on consumers than producers in other branches of the economy. They must therefore assume a special responsibility. Most tourists are unsure consumers. They have many wishes and longings, but rarely a clear picture of what they really want and can therefore be easily influenced. The majority are still passively receptive, open and willing consumers, ready to be led. They are grateful for help, advice and concrete offers, indeed, they rely on them. They put their faith in their helpers. Big tour operators, therefore, not only shape tourism but opinions as well. The ultimate pace of tourism depends to a large extent on their business policy and their marketing

No supplier in the tourist trade, be he a tour operator, hotelier, carrier or tourist office manager, should try to shirk this responsibility by pretending to act according to customer desires. So many tour operators profess that their only ambition is to satisfy them as quickly, fully and professionally as possible. ‘We merely make the arrangements the customer wants’. they say. It is a very comfortable shield, behind which it is easy to live and do business without accepting responsibility for the effects of those self-same arrangements.

I want to call on all suppliers of tourist services to acknowledge their responsibility towards travellers, the host population and the

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Ecological approach IO tourism marking

tourist environment. to state clearly what contribution they are prepared to make to a more human tourism and what regulations they are willing to observe. I propose that they should formulate and make public a code of practice and the principles of their internal and external business conduct. Not in a few beautifully worded and vague sentences but in concrete and practicable policy statements, to which they would be answerable

For this action to have a wider impact, professional tourist trade associations should consider the possibility of adopting common business principles which would serve as guidelines or even be binding on all members

A more honest travel marketing would also mean making advertising more informative. Advertising should not appeal only to the escape motives in travellers, extolling tourist destinations as a paradise on earth. They should reflect an effort to present reality and arouse the travellers’ interest in it, without forgetting their responsibility as visitors. Tourist organizations in holiday areas can make a significant contribution to better information by refraining from cliched advertising and by supplying their partners with authentic information.’

Conclusion

After a 200-years’ purely economical construction of our industrial society, this very society is now mature for a

social-ecological re-modelling (‘ecological switch-over‘). Tourism can play a part in this process. Well comprised tourism marketing should anticipate this big turn.

Notes and references

‘A. Imfeld. ‘Tourismus hinterfragt‘. in, Femtourismus unJ Entwick/ung. Gottlieb Duttweiler-Institut, rd. Ztirich, Switzer- land, 1979. ‘J. Krippendorf. ‘Towards new tourism policies - the importance of environmental and sociocultural factors’, Tourism Manage- menf, Vol 3. No 3, September 19S2, p 142. ‘F. Romeiss-Stracke, Andere Rahmenbediryungen - Andere Freizeit - und Lebensstile, Braunschweig. 19S5. ‘H. Opaschowski, ‘Neue Urlaubsformer und Tourismustrends’. in AIEST. ed, Tendances evolutives de la demande touristique, St Gallen. Switzerland. 1985. ‘See eg Ch. Lutz, ‘Die Kommunikationsgesellschaft - ein Leitbild fiir die Politik und Wirtschaft Westeuropas’. GDI Schriften Band 45, Riischlikon, 1986. 60. Venth, Umweltsensibilitit und Konsequenzen fiir das Touris- musmarketing, Gesellschaftliches Wertesystem. Berlin, 19%. ‘5. Krippendorf, The Holiday People - Towards a new under-

standing of leisure and travel. William Heinrmann. London (to be published in autumn 1987).

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