PROSPECTS OF APPLYING MARKETING STRATEGIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY’S TOURISM MARKET
(in the case of the tourism market of Uzbekistan)
Erkinova Nilufar
Student of Tashkent State University of Economics
lilyliterary75@gmail.com
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
ABSTRACT: This article describes ways to increase the role of tourism in the country’s economy and its share in its development, and at the same time implement strategic measures in the field of tourism marketing in order to ensure sustainable development in the country’s tourism market. Also, the analysis of the imbalances that have occurred in certain sectors of the tourism market of Uzbekistan is considered and their elimination, as well as finding and expanding the target audience, as well as attracting consumers in the tourism industry and meeting their needs at the level of demand, are targeted marketing strategies for the effect of use is revealed.
KEY WORDS: marketing strategies, tourism marketing, market of tourism, goals of visits, tourists, tourism services, target audience.
INTRODUCTION.
Nowadays, in the socio-economic reforms implemented in our country, special attention is paid to the issues of turning tourism into a strategic branch of the economy, expanding the activities of the tourism services market, and developing regional tourism systems. In the new development strategy of Uzbekistan for 2022-2026, the goal of increasing the number of domestic tourists from 12 million and the number of foreign tourists visiting the republic to 9 million within the framework of the “Travel around Uzbekistan” program has been set. in which the export of tourism, transport, information and communication, including software and other services will increase by 1,7 times or reach 4,3 billion US dollars, selected regions based on the defined target plans, including Samarkand, Khorezm, Bukhara, Navoi, Tashkent region and the city of Tashkent, the Republic of Karakalpakstan, to rapidly develop the tourism industry in the region of the island, to increase its role and share in the economy, to diversify and improve the quality of tourist services, to expand the tourism infrastructure, to widely introduce barrier-free tourism infrastructure in the main tourist cities of the country, the tourism sector until 2026 tasks such as doubling the number of employed people to 520,000. To achieve these goals, it is important to use marketing services strategy based on the market economy.
METHODS.
The theoretical and practical aspects of the expansion of the tourism services market, as well as the establishment and development of regional tourism systems, are reflected in the scientific works of many foreign economists.
In particular, it is covered in the scientific works of T.L.Shilchenko, V. Kvartalnov, A.D. Chudnovsky, A.P. Durovich, and others.
Theoretical aspects of expanding the activity of the tourism services market in our country, specific features of the formation of regional tourism systems, issues of development of tourism clusters and free tourist areas M. Amonboyev, N. Jorayeva, Fayzieva Sh.R, Norchayev A., Alieva M. and researched in the scientific works of other scientists.
To increase the number of local tourists from 12 million and the number of foreign tourists visiting the republic within the framework of the “Travel Uzbekistan” program, which was selected to achieve balance in the tourism market.
The possibility of achieving the intended goal will increase based on the determination of measures to reach 9 million people. In particular, the importance of defining a marketing strategy can be seen in the following:
• Promotion of the country’s tourism potential in foreign tourism markets,
• Presentation of new tourism destinations and products,
• Preparing promotional materials on the tourism potential of the regions, covering in the mass media and organizing information tours,
• Organization of “Domestic Tourism Month” with discounts in off-season months, and “Domestic Tourism Week”, “Domestic Tourism Days” programs within the framework of cultural, entertainment, national and religious holidays, big sports events.
• Approval of the main forecast indicators for the organization of domestic tourism flow in the cross-section of regions.
• Provision of tourism services that encourage travel across the country among working groups.
• Voluntary discounts in hotels, catering establishments, cultural and entertainment facilities, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, JSC “Uzbekistan Airways” and JSC “Uzbekistan Railways”
• It is possible to know how important the marketing strategy is in the tourism market, which plays an important role in the country’s economy, by clearly defining the measures, such as the organization of explanatory work on barrier-free tourism and its advantages among business entities in cooperation with the UNWTO.
In today’s modern conditions, expanding the activity of the tourism services market, establishing and developing the activities of regional tourism systems, including tourist clusters, free zones specialized in tourism, are among the issues of objective importance. After all, as the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Sh. Mirziyoyev stated: “Turning tourism into a strategic branch of the economy remains a priority for us” In order to effectively organize the activities of regional tourism systems, including tourist clusters and free tourist areas, in order to expand the activities of the tourism services market, it is necessary to study and thoroughly analyze the experience of foreign countries.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
As a result of the analysis of various negative economic changes taking place in the world in the conditions of the formation of the innovative economy, the main principles and factors of the comprehensive development of the tourism sector, increasing the economic efficiency of the development of regional tourism, and the development of tourism services were studied. and based on the opinions of experts, it is proposed to determine the priority directions of the development of the tourism sector through methods such as analysis and synthesis, observation, grouping, comparative analysis, systematic approach, statistics and economic analysis. Also, concrete recommendations were developed regarding the factors related to the effective organization of the activities of tourist facilities in the regions, the rational use of marketing in tourist infrastructures and the offer of quality services, as well as the levels of support for the development of the tourism industry.
ANALYSIS AND RESULTS.
The tourism market is a socio-economic phenomenon that unites demand and supply to ensure the process of buying and selling tourist products at the specified time and place, and services are the main subject of trade. Marketing principles are also widely used in the tourism market. On the basis of tourist marketing, it is possible to create competition not only at the state level, but also at large companies and organizations. They use tourism marketing to build a country brand. Of course, this leads to more tourists choosing one country over another.
Figure 1. The main factors affecting the development of the tourism market
Creating a brand for an entire country is definitely a mission that requires the cooperation of several institutions and the budget allocated by governments.
This starts with the media that creates a country's brand image for potential visitors, a tool that illuminates the smallest details that tourists will experience during their visit to the country.
Motivating and limiting factors affecting the development of the tourism services market are presented in Figure 1. The motivating factors include demo-graphic, economic and social factors.
Factors affecting the development of the demographic regional tourism services market include the growth of the world population, urbanization, the increase in the population’s demand for quality services, and the increase in the level of knowledge of foreign languages.
In the development of the tourism market, international economic factors are also of great importance, which is reflected as a result of the development of the world economy, the acceleration of scientific and technical progress, the growth of the population’s income, and the development of the material and technical base of tourism.
At the same time, it is appropriate to use remarketing methods in case the decrease in demand leads to imbalance as a result of the limiting factors that can affect the growth of the tourism market shown in the above diagram. The purpose of this type of marketing is to adapt the demand to the conditions of various seasonal changes, to take into account the elasticity of demand and supply, and to reduce the impact of natural factors and environmental conditions through tactical planning in advance.
In order to have a target audience, it is intended to focus on the following aspects:
• Thorough study of customer needs through research and maximum organization of services accordingly;
• Improving online service by creating websites or working on existing networks. Paying special attention to mobile, as many customers make reservations or purchase services through their mobile devices.
• Increasing brand awareness through constant activity in social networks and the use of video marketing methods;
• Effective use of the email marketing system and attracting potential customers through it;
• Work on advertising at a professional level to increase the effectiveness of the campaign. Make sure that the ad text and headline are attention-grabbing and creative.
Tourism marketing is a constant study of how well the enterprise meets the requirements of the market in which it operates. However, it is necessary to take into account the differences in the marketing goals of the more than 56 types of industries operating in the tourism sector (restaurants, hotel chains, travel markets, transport organizations, etc.). Knowing the different types of tourism now helps to build a business with target travelers in mind. This is the driving force behind tailoring the experience for each traveler. As the most common branches of the tourism industry:
• Recreational tourism: food, beach tourism;
• Cultural tourism: ecological, rural, religious, war, sports, open nature, pilgrimage tourism.
• Medical and business tourism.
Tourism is a fast-growing industry compared to other industries, because it is an industry that can be developed without requiring large investments for our country. If other sectors, including air, railways, automobiles, food and shopping centers, hotels develop, tourism can develop easily if there are tourist facilities in that place.
According to experts in the field of tourism, it will become the most important profitable industry in the world in the 21st century. Now it ranks third in the world after the automotive industry and oil refining.
The marketing concept that emerged in the USA at the end of the 19th century began to be used by professionals in the field of tourism in Europe by the 50th years of the last century. This movement began in the history of independent Uzbekistan with the establishment of the national company “Uzbekturizm” on
July 27, 1992 by the decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The main task of the company was to implement state policy in the field of tourism and create a national model of tourism development.
The fact is that from the point of view of marketing, each market consists of consumers who differ from each other in their tastes, desires, and needs, and who buy tourist services based on different motives. Therefore, the implementation of successful marketing activities involves taking into account the specific preferences of different groups of consumers. This is the basis of market segmentation. The most widespread in the tourism industry of Uzbekistan is the market of cultural tourism. Segmentation of the tourist market is defined as a classification according to the qualitative and quantitative features of the requirements of potential customers. The main purpose of segmentation is to direct the tourist product, which cannot meet the requirements of all consumers. By means of it, the main principle of marketing is implemented - targeting the consumer. In this case, the tourist enterprise does not distribute its efforts to the four sides, but focuses on the “main impact direction” (on the market segments that are most promising for it).
Therefore, sales, advertising, other forms and methods of sales promotion lead to an increase in the efficiency of use.
The most common customer motivations in the tourism market include segmentation by travel product and description. Types of tourism are also characterized by travel products.
Taking this aspect into account, we can determine the following main goals of trips (Fig. 2).
Figure 2. Destination types of visiting tourists
If we analyze the main indicators in the field of tourism in 2021, we can observe that a total of 1881,3 thousand foreign tourists visited the country, which is 181,3 thousand (10,7%) more than the plan (table 1).
From the data of the table, it is understood that we can see the largest part of the flow of tourists for the purpose of eliminating relatives, and the main reason for this is that our country is multinational, and the flow of tourists from sister countries, including neighboring countries, is high. We can see that it is in the second place in the number of tourists coming to the country for the purpose of recreation, and it can be understood that the other tourism goals have a significant impact on the country’s tourism.
It follows from the analysis that in order to further improve the flow of foreign tourists to the country, it is important and more effective to focus on the leisure and pilgrimage tourism part of the tourism market when choosing a marketing strategy. But in order to maintain market balance, it is appropriate to choose a separate long-term target strategy to increase the flow of tourists visiting for service, medical, and commercial purposes.
Tourism has a clear seasonality. It involves the analysis of tourist flows by main season, between seasons, months and seasons. According to the reports of the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the semi-annual indicators of the current year 2022 show that 1,876,232 foreign tourists visited.
Figure 3. Comparative ratio of tourists arriving in the country in the first half of 2022.
It can be seen that 84% of tourists are residents of neighboring countries. Foreign tourists make up 5%. These data show that it is desirable to ensure that the level of interest of foreign visitors in the field of tourism reaches long distances. In this case, it is possible to correctly and effectively use strategic marketing methods in the application of measures and thereby attract potential and target customers.
DISCUSSION
The results of the research show that the tourism sector is a complex system with a multifaceted functional structure aimed at meeting the needs of tourists, and also includes specific forms and methods used in providing services;
- The tourism market offers unique tourist products for tourists. The tourist product has a complex description and appears in the form of a “package of necessary services” to satisfy the demand that arises during the trip;
- The main difference of the tourism industry from material production is that the final results of the provision of tourist services occur with the direct participation of the consumer and the consumption process is carried out directly in the place where tourist resources are available;
- The fact that the demand for tourist services has a high sensitivity to changes in the socio-economic environment in relation to the market situation. In this case, the security of the services provided in the field of tourism will be of special importance.
- At the current stage of the development of the tourism market in Uzbekistan, the main task of state organizations is to direct local tourists to the domestic market along with foreign tourists, which is an objective necessity of increasing economic efficiency.
Legislation and normative legal framework in the field of tourism activities aimed at creating favorable conditions for the activities of tourism industry entities are being formed. Elimination of all obstacles and pitfalls in the development of tourism, simplification of visa and registration procedures, passport and customs control, state management of the tourism sector and market-specific regulation mechanism are being optimized, and healthy tourism market protecting the competition.
In today’s modern conditions, expanding the activity of the tourism services market, establishing and developing the activities of regional tourism systems, including tourist clusters, free zones specialized in tourism, are among the issues of objective importance. In order to promote the country's tourism potential in foreign tourism markets, it is necessary to determine some basic measures, and these can be expressed as follows:
- Declaring the country as a safe country for travel;
- Conducting marketing research in target markets and developing a tourism marketing strategy across countries after the pandemic;
- Participation with a national stand in international tourism exhibitions and fairs in foreign countries;
- Regular organization of “Days of Uzbekistan” promotional campaign worldwide with the support of the country’s diplomatic missions and compatriots;
- Organization of information tours across the country for popular bloggers, vloggers and influencers with a wide audience;
- Creation of thematic tourist zones and clusters in the regions of the country;
- Presentation of new tourism destinations and products.
- Organizing information tours and coverage in the mass media, preparing promotional materials related to the tourism potential of the regions.
- Development of incentive measures and mechanisms for organizing the travel of foreign and local tourists in this direction by tourist organizations.
Sustainable development of tourism in the country will help to strengthen the national economy, create modern directions of tourism, strengthen the management of state influence on tourism infrastructure, increase the standard of living and well-being of the population, ensure environmental safety, preserve historical and cultural monuments, increase the level of nature protection activities, serves to increase the moral potential of society.
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