Marketing research: case study

Essay by peddymanUniversity, Bachelor'sB+, March 2007

download word file, 6 pages 5.0

1. Management Decision Problem (MDP)

How can short-stay tourist numbers be increased to boost development and economic growth?

According to the project brief of the Redcliffe Tourism Accommodation strategy, Redcliffe is now facing a big challenge in tourism. Although Redcliffe has a lot of advantages with its natural attractions, strategic position and landscape, the quality and quantity of tourist accommodation has not grown substantially. The project brief mentioned that the number of campsite/caravan parks has decreased over the past ten years and some of the hotel/motels which provided short-term accommodation have closed. Besides, Redcliffe only has four star accommodation. Despite the growth in backpackers, bed and breakfasts and rental house or unit, three places which tried to provide backpacker/hotel accommodation have failed in recent years. From these information, the manager considered that the limited amount of tourist accommodation impede the growth of tourism. Therefore, the management decision problem is whether more accommodation should be provided, and if there are any other ways to attract more tourists.

2. Marketing Research Problem Statement (MRP)

Marketing research problem consists what information is needed and how it can be obtained in the most feasible way (Malhotra, 2004, p. 43.). Therefore, the brief aims are as follows:

To identify the current visitors' proportional distribution.

To identify the accommodation preferences of tourists.

To identify the impact of visitors to promotions.

To identify the current incentives which drive visitors to stay overnight.

In the project brief, the research problem is how to attract more tourists to stimulate economic growth. But some data still need to be identified.

1.What kinds of tourist would like to stay overnight?

It is necessary to segment the tourists into different groups. By separating into different groups, such as family, businessman, backpacker, international tour group, decision makers can more easily target the...