Research On Tourism Advertising In Indirect Channel

Due to tourism product's intangibility, perishability, simultaneity of production and consumption, tourism enterprises have to present tourism products' information to the customers instead of displaying the products directly in shops as industrial products. Advertising is a useful tool to deliver the tourism products' information. People always pay much attention to advertising in the direct channel to the end user, but neglect advertising between tourism suppliers and intermediaries in the indirect marketing channel. Actually the emergence of intermediaries in tourism industry is inevitable and effective because it enlarged the scope and scale of the market. Thus the advertising in indirect channel is vitally important.The communication pattern of advertising in indirect channel is bi-directional and variable. There are advertisements not only between tourism supplier group and intermediary group, but also within individual groups. Advertising in indirect channel and those in direct channel have some common grounds but also many differences. The common grounds are: both advertisements should lay stress on image and brand, uniqueness and difference, frequency and intensity. Differences are mainly shown in these aspects: advertiser, accepter, media, time, purpose, emphases and the way of promotion.Advertising strategies in indirect channel are summarized as follow: Firstly, advertising strategies in indirect channel should cooperate with strategies in direct channel under the frame of the whole marketing strategy. Secondly, choose the proper time and professional media to meet the need of channel members. Thirdly, advertisement should be pertinent. Tourism suppliers should place stress on gaining intermediaries' approval to their products, support and encourage them efficiently. Tourism intermediaries should lay emphasis on showing the intermediate strength, the ability to reassemble and add value to suppliers' products. Besides, advertisements within supplier group or intermediary group should attach importance to show the prospects and profitability of future corporation.Through the research on advertisements in China Tourism News from 2003 to 2004, the feature of tourism advertisement in indirect channel is summarized as followed: tourism advertisements are growing promptly in quantity;advertisements are varied in style, showing the efficiency of intermediary market;associated advertising between different region and different field is increasing;quantity and content of advertisements change seasonally and regionally;different institutes, e.g. tourism destination, travel agencies and accommodations, have dissimilar emphasis.Advertising in tourism indirect channel also has several problems, primarily embodies in: weak in the overall strength of adverting, inadequate attention to indirect channels;short of advertising in advance, regardless of the feathers in indirect channel;lack of creativity, ignorance of image building;lack of uniqueness in product's designing, regardless of the need of indirect channel members;limited communication channels which cause inconvenience to the customers, etc.Suggestions are given as followed: tourism enterprises should realize the importance of advertising and increase investment in it;focus on the overall marketing, choose the professional media and proper time to advertise;emphasis on brand and image building to realize goodwill's scope economy;focus on product differentiation and product's diversity to assemble to meet the need of indirect channel members;make use of associated advertising among associations and enterprises to get economy of scale.