ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by viewing travel sales from the customers’ standpoint in the practical context of enquiries, reservations and bookings. This is followed by key definitions and a review of the strategic options for generating sales, using a diagram representing the marketing flows in the producer/distributor/customer triangle (Figure 19.1). The chapter reviews traditional and new methods available to businesses engaged in direct marketing and summarizes the potential benefits achievable by those who use such methods in conjunction with new forms of customer databases and reservation systems. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the balance to be achieved in travel and tourism between direct and indirect marketing methods having regard to the growing opportunities for e-commerce.
