Universidad del Istmo Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y

Transcription

Universidad del Istmo
Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales
César Ritz Colleges Switzerland
TOUR OPERATORS PERCEPTION OF GUATEMALA AS A TOURISM
DESTINATION: A STUDY IN BERN AND ZÜRICH, SWITZERLAND
DANIELA RAMIREZ MAZA
Guatemala, 18 de diciembre de 2,007
Trabajo de Graduación
Presentado al Consejo de la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales de la
Universidad del Istmo para optar al título de:
Licenciado en Administración de Empresas con especialidad en Turismo y Hotelería
ya
César Ritz Colleges Switzerland para optar al título de:
Licenciado en Negocios Internacionales en Hotelería y Turismo
por
DANIELA RAMIREZ MAZA
Asesorado por: Dra. Maria Lugo
Guatemala, 18 de diciembre de 2,007
A continuación presento el trabajo
Tema que fuera asignado por la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales y
en el mes de septiembre de 2007
Declaration
This research paper has not been submitted for other degree in any university,
college or institute of learning. The following Industry Project is the result of a personal
effort and interest of the researcher. Therefore, the author declares this research paper to
be original.
______________________
Daniela Ramírez Maza
Abstract
Tourism in Guatemala is important because it benefits the national economy. In
the past years, there has been an initiative to promote the country as a tourist destination
with the objective to increase the tourism flow. The role of distribution channels in the
promotion of a tourism destination is essential because they have the power to influence
travellers’ behaviour; in particular because the information they transmit to their clients
will persuade them to visit the destination. Therefore, the perceived image needs to be
positive, attractive, as well as consistent.
In order to evaluate tour operators’ perception of Guatemala as a tourism
destination, qualitative data was collected through six personal interviews. The topics
covered in each session were image perception, previous knowledge about the destination
and information provided by the participants to their clients. Results showed an unclear
and inconsistent image about Guatemala as a tourism destination, in addition to a lack of
available information. Recommendations to the tourism industry in Guatemala included
being more present in the media and increase the distribution of promotional material to
improve people’s awareness of the destination.
Acknowledgements
This Industry Project is part of my personal goal and illusion to contribute with
Guatemala’s tourism development and success. I would like to thank my parents and my
uncle Carlos for all their love and for making an effort so that I could come to study to
Switzerland.
Additionally I would like to thank all my friends and family for all their support
and especially for being part of this important journey and life experience.
Furthermore this project could have never been done without the advice of my
supervisor Dr. María Lugo and special guidance of Dr. Michael Vieregge.
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Table of Contents
Declaration
Abstract
Acknowledgement
Carta de autorización de impresión de trabajo de graduación
Carta del asesor
List of Figures……………………………………………………………………….........iii
List of Tables......................................................................................................................iv
1.0 Introduction to the study.............................................................................................1
1.1 General Overview ............................................................................................. 1
1.2 Background ....................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Justification ....................................................................................................... 2
1.4 Purpose of study ................................................................................................ 2
1.5 Research Objectives .......................................................................................... 3
1.6 Research Hypothesis ......................................................................................... 3
1.7 Structure of study .............................................................................................. 3
2.0
Literature Review......................................................................................................5
2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Marketing for tourism and hospitality ................................................................ 5
2.3 Customer Perceptions ........................................................................................ 6
2.3.1 Definition of Perception.................................................................................. 6
2.3.2 Customer Perception Theories......................................................................... 7
2.4 Tourism Destination .......................................................................................... 8
2.4.1 Definition of Destination................................................................................. 8
2.4.2 Creation of Tourism Destination Image (TDI)................................................ 8
2.4.3 Tourism Destination Marketing....................................................................... 9
2.4.4 Promotion...................................................................................................... 11
2.4.5 Branding.........................................................................................................12
2.5 Guatemala as a Tourism Destination................................................................ 13
2.5.1 Background information................................................................................ 13
2.5.2 Tourism data.................................................................................................. 14
2.6 Key findings of literature review ..................................................................... 16
2.7 Research statement and question ..................................................................... 17
3.0 Methodology.............................................................................................................18
3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 18
3.2 Research philosophy, approach and strategy .................................................... 18
3.3 Sampling technique ......................................................................................... 19
3.4 Interviews development ................................................................................... 20
3.4.1 Validity.......................................................................................................... 21
3.5 Data Collection ............................................................................................... 21
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3.6 Data Analysis .................................................................................................. 22
3.7 Research Ethics ............................................................................................... 23
3.8 Summary of key findings ................................................................................ 23
4.0 Results......................................................................................................................24
4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 24
4.2 Quantitative data and demographic .................................................................. 24
4.3 Image Perception ............................................................................................. 25
4.4 Previous knowledge about Guatemala ............................................................. 27
4.5 Information provided to tourists ...................................................................... 29
4.6 Further opinions .............................................................................................. 32
4.7 Exploratory findings ........................................................................................ 33
4.8 Key findings .................................................................................................... 33
5.0 Conclusions and Recommendations.........................................................................35
5.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 35
5.2 Conclusions to the research ............................................................................. 35
5.3 Limitations of the study ................................................................................... 37
5.4 Reflection on research ..................................................................................... 38
5.5 Recommendations ........................................................................................... 39
5.5.1 Recommendations to the tourism industry in Guatemala.............................. 39
5.5.2 Recommendations for future research........................................................... 41
References..........................................................................................................................43
Appendices.........................................................................................................................45
Appendix A- Logo and slogan of Guatemala .............................................................. 45
Appendix B - Dimensions and attributes determining the perceived tourist destination
image.......................................................................................................................... 46
Appendix C1 – Letter sent to the Tourism Board ....................................................... 47
Appendix D1 – E-mail sent to the Guatemalan Consulate, Geneva ............................. 48
Appendix D2 – Reply letter from the Ambassador ..................................................... 49
Appendix F1 – Interview sheet ................................................................................... 50
Appendix F2 – Interview questions ............................................................................ 51
Appendix G – Interview answers ............................................................................... 53
iii
List of Figures
Figure 4.2: Participants’ opinion on Guatemala’s main tourism attraction ..................... 29
iv
List of Tables
Table 2.5.2: International visitors to Guatemala 2005 – 2006......................................... 15
Table 4.1: Sample description........................................................................................ 25
Table 4.2: Guatemala’s main tourism attractions ........................................................... 28
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1.0 Introduction to the study
1.1 General Overview
This project is the most important component to finish the degree of Bachelor of
International Business in Hotel and Tourism Management, therefore the author decided to
undertake an image perception study in order to be able to give significant
recommendations to the tourism industry in Guatemala on how to improve their
promotional strategies in Switzerland.
1.2 Background
Tourism represents the most important industry in Guatemala, especially because it
benefits to overall economy. Therefore, it has become a national priority to focus on the
development of successful tourism strategies to increase competitiveness in the
international market and achieve tourism development (CAMTUR & ASIES, 2004).
Guatemala is geographically located in Central America and is known for its cultural
inheritance, where more than half of the population is Mayan descendent. The
extraordinary tropical weather as well as its different natural resources are today the main
tourism attractions. Over 1.5 million tourists visited the country in 2006. The most visited
places in 2006 were Tikal, Antigua Guatemala, Panajachel and Chichicastenango, which
are the most popular thus developed destinations. According to the Ministry of Tourism,
tourism flow is expected to increase in the next years as a result of the implementation of
new flight routes and an intensive promotional campaign that has been launched in
several international events (INGUAT, 2007).
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In 2004, the Ministry of Tourism launched the brand of Guatemala represented as the
image of a circle and the slogan “Guatemala soul of the Earth” (see Appendix A). This
marketing campaign was aimed to position the country as a unique destination with
characteristics such as, mystique, diverse, authentic, and capable of reinventing itself, as
well a place where everyone will feel like home (Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo, nd).
With the increase of tourism flow, tourism entities have been working on creating new
and alternative destinations to increase the demand and attract different segments. This
study will therefore examine the actual perceived image of Guatemala to suggest
promotional strategies that can contribute to the country’s tourism growth.
1.3 Justification
Guatemala is a developing country which has an important tourism potential.
Unfortunately its tourism activities are still basic; the country needs planning and the
implementation of good practices in tourism. With limited previous research on the topic,
it is of great interest to find out what is the perceived image of Guatemala and especially
what tour operators in Switzerland think of the country; since these organizations are the
ones in charge of transmitting the information to potential visitors. This study attempts to
detect if there is a gap between the image that Guatemala is trying to transmit and
people’s perception of the destination.
1.4 Purpose of study
The aim of this study is to analyse the perception of tour operators in Switzerland
about Guatemala as a tourism destination. In addition this study will demonstrate the
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importance of developing new promotional strategies to expand the demand of visitors to
Guatemala.
1.5 Research Objectives
The study is structured through three main objectives, which are addressed as
following:
1. To present significant literature on destination marketing, as well as the role of
distribution channels and their relevance to a destination’s image perception.
2. To evaluate perceptions of tour operators in Switzerland about Guatemala and to
analyse the impact of promotional material in their destination awareness.
3. To provide recommendations to the tourism industry in Guatemala on how to
improve their positioning image.
1.6 Research Hypothesis
The research has the following hypothesis, which will be proven with the
information given during the data collection its analysis:
H0: Tour operators’ perception of Guatemala will be inconsistent due to a lack of
information and an unclear image about what the destination has to offer.
1.7 Structure of study
This study is structured in five chapters. It has been developed in a logical way,
following the objectives of the study. The first chapter firstly describes the background of
the study by explaining the importance of tourism in Guatemala. Moreover it reveals the
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structure of tourism in the country and the different marketing strategies that have been
applied so far by the Tourism Board and private entities. In this chapter, the aim,
hypothesis and objectives are presented.
Chapter two reviews the literature regarding the concepts of marketing for tourism,
destination marketing, image perception and their relationship between attitudes and
emotions towards a tourism destination. Each relevant topic is divided by subsections and
analysed in detail. At the end of this chapter, the research question is related to the key
findings of the literature review.
The third chapter outlines the methodology of the study; it demonstrates the research
approach, philosophy and strategy. It addresses the sampling selection, data collection
and interpretation. Moreover the data collection tool is discussed and justified in this
chapter. Chapter four presents the results of the data collection, their corresponding
analysis and importance to the study. In this section, the hypothesis will be tested and
opinions about Guatemala’s promotional material will be presented.
Conclusions of the study are made in the fifth chapter. Finally recommendations to
the tourism industry in Guatemala on how to improve their communication strategy and
positioning image are given.
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2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
This chapter will give the reader an overview of the theoretical background of
destination marketing; it will discuss the role of distribution channels in delivering the
destination brand to visitors. Moreover, it will explain the importance of a clear and
definitive image of the destination to achieve differentiation and how emotions and
attitudes can affect the marketing strategy. In addition, it will present some examples of
how other destinations are perceived and finally, it will give a short description of how
Guatemala is being sold as a tourism destination. The critical review related to the topic
will end with the research question of the study and hypothesis (Saunders, Lewis &
Thornhill, 2007).
2.2 Marketing for tourism and hospitality
Marketing has become more important every day. Businesses that want to increase
their success have the need to implement good marketing strategies (Kotler, & Keller,
2006). According to Morrison (2002), marketing is the process of creating a product that
satisfies customer’s needs and achieves the organization’s goals.
The hospitality and tourism industry differentiates itself from others especially
because it deals with goods and services (Middleton, 2001). According to Morrison
(2002), there are several important characteristics of marketing of services. These are six,
including (a) intangibility, (b) different methods of production, (c) perishability, (d) cost
structure, (e) distribution channels and (f) customers’ relationships. Because the
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hospitality and tourism industry deals with people’s emotions and expectations, every
marketing approach is different. There are other particularities about marketing for
tourism; one of these is that the industry is affected by seasonality. The demand of
tourism products will increase and decrease depending on the season of the year, which
implies that marketing managers have to change their strategies constantly. Another
important fact is that each tourism product depends on others (Middleton, 2001). In some
instances, visiting a tourism destination involves purchasing a travel package consisting
on several different products, such as lodging, transportation, and recreational activities.
According to Morrison (2002), in the travel and tourism industry, the
implementation of a different marketing plan is necessary. The marketing mix should
focus on eight elements including (a) people, (b) product, (c) partnerships, (d) packaging,
(e) programming, (f) place, (g) promotion and (h) pricing. Promotion and distribution
channels should be developed carefully. Communication is critical in order to inform,
persuade and induce action (Morgan & Pritchard, 2000). It is clear that marketing for
tourism and hospitality has many characteristics and differences, in particular the
complexity of the tourism demand which influences every other factor.
2.3 Customer Perceptions
2.3.1 Definition of Perception
Kotler, and Keller (2006), define perception as the process of gathering as well as
understanding information and creating a specific picture of it in the mind. Morrison
(2002), considers that perception is a mental process that individuals go through in
respond to a promotional message. People’s perceptions depend on the immediate
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environment and the individual ways of thinking. In the hospitality and tourism industry,
perception is important because it affects customer’s behaviour and motivation to buy and
visit a destination.
2.3.2 Customer Perception Theories
According to Kotler and Keller (2006), there are three perceptual processes. These
are founded on the fact that perceptions vary. People are exposed to numerous
advertisement campaigns but they will only remember the most attractive messages in
their minds.
The process of selective attention, also known as selective exposure (Belch &
Belch, 2007), refers to the challenge of establishing marketing strategies that focus on
attracting people’s interest. Usually people notice what relates to something they need,
what they are not expecting to find and also large objects (Kotler & Keller, 2006).
Selective distortion is the perceptual process where the individual interprets the
information in a personal way that goes according to his presumptions. The next step is
selective retention, when people remember the information that relates to their emotions
and principles. For instance in a destination promotional campaign, potential visitors will
remember the beach if that is what they like and relate to. Finally, subliminal reception
refers to how hidden messages affect consumers’ way of thinking and behaviour. (Kotler
& Keller, 2006)
Morrison (2002), stated that there are four perceptual processes. He also identified
that people only recognize few messages and that they usually interpret the information
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according to the idea that they already had in their minds. After this process, people will
only retain the information for a short time, unless it is something that they feel attached
to. Finally, Morrison (2002), also mentioned the importance of using positioning
statements to complete the perception process; and the fact that in most cases customers
tend to remember repetitive messages.
Other aspects that influence people’s perception are attitudes and beliefs. The
image of a destination depends on beliefs a person has. Moreover, attitudes also influence
because they express people’s feelings towards a product (Kotler, Bowen & Makens,
2006).
2.4 Tourism Destination
2.4.1 Definition of Destination
Page and Connel (2006), define tourist destination as a place that promotes a
combination of tangible and intangible products to the customer and visitors stay at. This
can be a country, a region, an area, a park. There are six characteristics of a tourist
destination; that (a) it offers different packages, (b) attractions, (c) amenities, (d)
activities, (e) it is accessible and (f) it provides services. The coordination, planning,
control and promotion of a destination can be in charge of a public or private
organization, which in some cases it is the reason of the place’s rapid development.
2.4.2 Creation of Tourism Destination Image (TDI)
Tourism destination image (TDI) has always been an interesting topic for
marketers, in particular the creation of an image. Several studies have focused on how
9
destination image has changed over time, or on its dimensions, how it is created and
perceived by the customer; others have analysed and evaluated marketing strategies (Page
& Connel, 2006).
Appendix B shows different aspects that a destination can offer and are important
to determine the perception of the place. The combination of these elements will create a
specific picture in people’s minds. According to Beerli and Martín (2004), these nine
attributes are internal characteristics that influence the creation process of the image,
these include (a) natural resources, (b) tourist leisure and recreation, (c) natural
environment, (d) general infrastructure, (e) culture, history and art, (f) social
environment, (g) tourist infrastructure, (h) political and economic factors, (i) atmosphere
of the place. The number and variety of characteristics are also important. For instance if
a destination offers beautiful landscapes, natural reserves, flora and fauna with rich
culture traditions; people’s perception will be of cultural and ecotourism.
Another factor that influences the formulation of destination image is the visual
component, such as brochures and media sources because they already represent an
example of what people can expect to find (Page & Connel, 2006).
2.4.3 Tourism Destination Marketing
Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO’s) are responsible of increasing the
level of visitors by creating promotional strategies and the destination marketing mix;
moreover, they are in charge of involving the local community in tourism activities.
Together with the collaboration of the private and public sector the DMO’s create the
destination’s marketing strategy. On the other hand, the national tourism organizations
10
(NTO’s) are in charge of marketing countries as destinations, while the DMO’s only
focus on specific competitive advantages to attract tourists through advertising and
product campaigns (Page & Connel, 2006). DMO’s and NTO’s are powerful
organizations; they are the key for the destination’s development. In some countries like
Australia and Canada, both organizations work together and their efforts have raised the
tourism demand significantly (Middleton, 2001).
With the increase of destinations around the world, DMO’s and NTO’s should
focus on developing attractive products and work in contribution with different
distribution channels to maximize the destination’s value. According to Middleton
(2001), creating communication strategies should be a priority for any tourism
organization, especially in defining the image and branding as part of the positioning
strategy.
Distribution channels are the organizations that are in charge of delivering products
and services to consumers. These can be travel agents, tour operators, regional tourism
organizations, the internet, direct sales and destination management systems (Page &
Connel, 2006). Distribution channels in destination marketing are very important
because they provide many benefits for the tourism industry. Not only they contribute
with increasing sales but also depending on their product and destination knowledge and
awareness, they can transmit that to the customer and make their travel experiences more
gratifying (Morrison, 2002). According to Govers, Go and Kumar (2007), tourists can
get dissatisfied especially when intermediaries do not project the image they were
expecting.
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According to Page and Connel (2006), travel agents’ and tour operators’
recommendations of a destination depend on several factors, especially on their prior
knowledge. Intermediaries can perceive the information through media sources,
promotional material, as well as incentive programs or personal experiences.
2.4.4 Promotion
The analysis of people’s perception contributes in defining whether a marketing
strategy is being successful or not. On the subject of tourism destinations it can identify
weaknesses and strengths of the promotional message or destination image (Ibrahim &
Gill, 2005).
According to Beerli and Martín, (2004), there are two elements that influence the
formulation of the destination image. The first one is the information that surrounds a
person, which can be transmitted by several intermediaries. For instance, advertisement
campaigns using media resources, tourism organizations, travel agencies and tour
operators. Moreover, people can give information about destinations based on their
previous visits or knowledge. The second factor is personal characteristics; these refer to
motivations, beliefs, gender, as well as income and other social factors.
The development of a destination image begins with the fact that any promotional
activity has to represent a real characteristic; otherwise it will create a gap between the
reality and visitors expectations (Govers, Go & Kumar, 2007). Tourism organizations
focus on several activities to achieve their objectives, the most common ones are
advertising, public relations, packaging, event marketing, direct mailings, sales
promotions, and sponsorships. Morgan and Pritchard (2000), point out that “promotion,
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when used effectively, builds and creates an identity for the product or the organization”
(p. 9). This statement points out the importance of marketing research in understanding
how the perceived image is the key factor to position the destination and to obtain a
competitive advantage.
2.4.5 Branding
Branding is also used in marketing as a communication strategy. The creation of a
brand helps people indentify with the destination. The brand image has to represent real
values, if the brand is well positioned it can bring important advantages for the place.
Branding has other benefits including prestige; it also gives meaning to the destination.
(Page & Connel, 2006). According to Hankinson (2005), the creation of a brand for a
tourism destination is related to associations.
Two countries that have developed branding successfully are for instance, Australia
and Costa Rica. With the slogan “So where the bloody hell are you?” and “Australia
invites you to get involved” these messages motivate everyone to visit their country. In
order to position the brand, marketers worked on creating a balance between the image
and people’s knowledge (Tourism Australia, 2006). Costa Rica on the other hand has
developed a powerful image as an ecotourism destination. Their marketing efforts are
only focused on positioning the country as one of the top tourism destinations. Their
brand strengthens their image of natural paradise. (Page & Connel, 2006)
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2.5
Guatemala as a Tourism Destination
2.5.1 Background information
Guatemala is located in Central America, bordering Mexico, Belize, Honduras and
El Salvador. It has a population of about 12 million inhabitants and is divided into 22
geographical areas. Guatemala is a unique country with a rich cultural heritage. The
official language is Spanish. There are 22 Maya ethnic groups, each one of them has its
own original language. Guatemala has an area of 42,042 square miles; one of its
characteristics is the variety of landscapes, flora and fauna. It benefits from an
extraordinary weather. The country has many natural resources; its main economic
activities are agriculture, cattle and manufacturing industry. The most important and
significant Mayan cities were built in Guatemala. Nowadays these archaeological ruins
are part of the main tourism attractions. Guatemala is a colourful and unique country, it is
also known because of its cultural manifestations and lively religious traditions (Instituto
Guatemalteco de Turismo, n.d).
Guatemala has many tourism destinations. There are more than 19 ecosystems, 300
microclimates and 33 volcanoes. Caving, canopying and bird watching are tourism
activities that can be practiced. The Pacific Coast is well known because of its black sand
beaches. One of the most beautiful lakes is Lake Atitlán, which is surrounded by three
volcanoes, none of them are active. Coffee tours are offered as part of alternative tourism
activities. Many people come to Guatemala to learn Spanish, therefore language
academies can be found all over the country. Because of the growing tourism demand and
competition, Guatemala is trying to develop alternative activities and destinations in order
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to gain competitive advantage. Some of these are community tourism, golf, extreme
sports, salt water fishing, surfing, rafting, hiking, mountain biking, sailing in the
Caribbean coast, scuba diving and cruise ships (Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo, n.d).
In the year 2004, Guatemala launched its brand as part of a marketing strategy.
Besides being a tourism objective it also had the purpose of giving a positive image of the
country. The image of a circle and a dot in the middle had the intention of expressing the
country’s history and traditions. Each colour of the image has a meaning and represents a
unique characteristic. The colour purple stands for religiosity and its importance in
Guatemala’s society. Yellow reflects the people’s way of thinking and attitude towards
life; it represents simplicity. The colour light green symbolize its authentic culture and
different ethnic groups. Moreover, red characterize democracy and peace and a dark
green represents people’s warmth and sympathy. All these together with the slogan “Soul
of the earth” were the perfect brand to transmit Guatemala’s culture (Instituto
Guatemalteco de Turismo, 2004).
2.5.2 Tourism data
According to the Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo (2006), tourism demand in
Guatemala is increasing significantly. In the year 2006 a total of 1,502,069 people visited
the country, which represented an income of $1,012.7 million. Statistics show that there
has been an increase of 31.7% of tourism demand during the first 6 months of 2007
(INGUAT, 2007). The following table illustrates the number of visitors that travelled to
Guatemala and their nationalities. The information was presented in the annual statistics
15
report created by the Guatemalan Tourism Board. For the purpose of this study only the
most relevant nationalities were used, therefore the format of the table has been modified.
Table 2.5.1: International visitors to Guatemala 2005 – 2006
NATIONALITY
2005
2006
North America
Canada
24,820
32,268
United States of America
286,869
338,472
Mexico
72,910
79,731
Central Amercia
Belize
13,112
26,340
Costa Rica
34,693
35,842
El Salvador
497,430
582,676
Honduas
106,473
122,428
Nicaragua
46,936
36,478
Panamá
9,733
10,786
47,518
53,307
South America
Europe
Switzerland
5,272
5,080
Germany
18,258
18,178
Spain
21,182
22,794
France
19,225
18,351
The Netherlands
12,055
13,633
Italie
16,467
14,960
United Kindom
16,792
21,187
18,612
22,238
Asia
8,283
6,175
Middle East
Source: Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo (2006, p.12)
The table shows that the majority of tourists come from Central America, especially
from El Salvador. The other two important nationalities are United States with a number
of visitants of 338, 472 in 2006. In regards to Europe the highest demand comes from
Spain and France. Although the number of Swiss visitors to Guatemala is less than other
countries, the statistics clearly show an overall increase of tourist flow.
According to INGUAT, (2007) the most visited destinations in the country were the
Capital, Antigua Guatemala, Atitlán, Tikal, Quetzaltenango and others. Their motives of
16
visit were leisure, business and visiting friends and family. Over the last year, activities
such as fishing, bird watching, mountain hiking, communitarian tourism and ecotourism
have become more important. The Ministry of tourism is trying to promote alternative
destinations, such as black sand beaches to offer different products and increase
differentiation.
2.6
Key findings of literature review
In this chapter the literature related to marketing for tourism and destination image
was reviewed. The concepts regarding the creation of tourism destination and the
principles of perception theory where explained clearly and it was shown that the creation
of a positive and attractive destination image is one of the most important strategies in
marketing to influence tourists behaviour. Moreover, it was shown the relationship
between destination marketing organizations, such as tour operators or travel agencies
and the delivery of a destination’s image to potential visitors. According to the literature
review, tourists need to perceive the destination as real, attractive and they have to feel
emotionally attached to it. A key factor in the creation of tourism destinations and their
image is the available information that visitors can have access to, in addition its content
and consistency. The example of Australia was given to illustrate the positive effect of a
destination brand and the success of a well implemented promotional strategy. Costa Rica
a part of having similar natural resources as Guatemala, it is well perceived by tourists
because of their intensive marketing campaigns. The information about Guatemala has
been provided for the reader to have a better understanding on tourism in the country and
the demand’s behaviour. The literature on Guatemala has demonstrated the country’s
17
effort of applying effective marketing strategies and their willingness of creating a
positive image in the international market.
2.7
Research statement and question
Based on the literature, it can be established that tour operators’ perception of a
tourism destination influence possible visitor’s travelling behaviour. The information
they transmit to their clients will depend on their knowledge about the place, the image
they perceive and promotional material. Based on this research statement, the objective of
the study is to answer what tour operators think, feel and perceive of the image of
Guatemala as a tourism destination.
18
3.0 Methodology
3.1 Introduction
The following chapter presents a detailed explanation of the research design,
philosophy of the study, approach and strategy. It also includes a description of the
implemented sampling technique. Data collection and analysis is also discussed and
explained. Since the data collection tool is based on personal interviews, ethical issues
and considerations are clarified as well.
3.2 Research philosophy, approach and strategy
According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2007), the research philosophy is one
of the most important aspects of the methodology, because it influences the research
approach and strategy. There are three important types of research philosophies; (a)
positivism, (b) realism and (c) interpretivism (Saunders et al., 2007). For this paper
positivism has been selected, since the author of this paper will assume a neutral position
and has the aim of providing reliable data. According to Saunders et al. (2007), the
purpose is to collect data that the researcher can observe and that will create reliable data.
The research approach can be deductive or inductive (Saunders et al., 2007). For
this research, an inductive approach has been chosen. This is based on the development
of a theory after having analysed the data (Saunders et al., 2007). The inductive approach
was used because qualitative data was collected by the researcher and primarily because
the hypothesis could not be proven without having evaluated tour operators’ perceptions.
19
The chosen strategy of this study was explanatory. According to Saunders et al.
(2007) this kind of strategy is used when the research is explaining relationships between
two or more variables. Explanatory studies can collect both, quantitative or qualitative
data. Given that the objective of the study is to have a better understanding of what tour
operators perceive about Guatemala, the principal technique to collect the data will be
done through personal interviews. The interview will have the purpose of evaluating what
they think of the destination and their perceived image.
In order to have more insight on the promotional material that is being used by the
Guatemalan Tourism board, an exploratory study was carried out in March 2007. This
study was also developed for the Guatemalan Consulate in Geneva. E-mails were sent in
order to get the desired information.
3.3 Sampling technique
In order to collect data, sampling needs to be undertaken (Saunders et al., 2007).
Tour operators in Switzerland were chosen to be the main sample for the study. There
were some limitations to take under consideration. Given that the main target was to
evaluate their perception of Guatemala as a tourism destination, there was the need to
identify and select tour operators that had experience selling packages and trips to
Guatemala. For the purpose of the study, the cities of Bern and Zürich were chosen. The
first one was selected because of being the capital of Switzerland and the second city due
to its importance in the country. The major limitation was finding tour operators that sold
the destination. After researching tour operators in Switzerland, it was found that most of
the ones that sold Guatemala as a tourist destination were located in these two cities.
20
Because of the short timeframe of 11 weeks, it was not possible to collect a broader list of
tour operators with this characteristic and include more cities as part of the research area.
Consequently conclusions about the study cannot be generalized since they would
not represent the whole country. According to Saunders et al., (2007) in the development
of qualitative studies in-depth information is more relevant than generalization.
3.4 Interviews development
Interviews are a reliable and important data collection tool (Saunders et al., 2007).
There are different types of interviews. According to Saunders et al. (2007), these can be
(a) structured, (b) semi-structured or (c) in-depth interviews depending on the kind of
questions. As the study focuses on tour operators’ perceptions, there was a need of
detailed information. Therefore, semi-structured and in-depth interviews were chosen for
the research. Saunders et al. (2007), mentions that semi-structured interviews are used to
guarantee discussion.
The interview sheet included a cover letter that described the reason of the study
and a brief explanation making aware that the participation was voluntary and
confidential. The interview the sheet was developed in two different sections. One part
was written in a questionnaire format aiming to get demographic facts and quantitative
data, such as gender and years working as a tour operator. This information will be used
to analyse if there is a relationship between previous visits to the destination, trips sold to
Guatemala and their image perception. For the second section a number of 11 open-ended
questions and a list of alternative themes were developed with the purpose of obtaining
detailed information. The questions were developed under three main topics, image
21
perception, previous knowledge of the destination and information provided by the tour
operators to their clients. The length of time of each session was aimed to be 30 minutes
per tour operator. The chosen location was in their offices. In order to collect the data,
notes were taken. There was no need of translation since every respondent spoke English.
3.4.1 Validity
In the development of interviews a validity test must be carried out. The purpose of
this test is to make sure that the questions are clear and are the appropriate ones to obtain
the desired information; the appropriate language must be used and the purpose of the
interview must be comprehensive (Saunders et al., 2007). For the validity of this research
paper the contribution and opinion of the industry project advisor was taken under
consideration. The questions were based on the research objectives and were carefully
revised.
3.5 Data Collection
For the collection of primary data, the cities of Bern and Zürich were chosen. With
collaboration of a personal contact with one tour operator, a list of 14 different tour
operators that sold the specific destination was given. After approval of the questions was
obtained by the University Centre César Ritz, the cover letter explaining the reason of the
study with the main objectives was send by e-mail to all of the possible participants.
After two days, four of them had refused to participate. At the end of the first week only
two were willing of having an interview. The day of the first interview in Zürich, other 5
tour operators replied by e-mail, they were also interested in being part of the research. A
22
total of 6 interviews were undertaken, each one took place on the same week. Participants
settled their preferred time for the session.
As part of the collection of promotional material, in March 2007 the researcher
visited the Guatemalan Tourism Board to get brochures and media sources that were
being distributed as promotional material. Two videos presenting seven different
destinations inside the country and two informational brochures were provided. For the
purpose of the study it was necessary to collect a list of tour operators that were selling
Guatemala in Switzerland. In October 2007, an e-mail explaining the reason of the study
and asking for the collaboration of the Guatemala Tourism Board was sent but no answer
was received. On the 6th of November a second e-mail directed to the President of the
Tourism Board was sent. It contained a letter asking for his cooperation in getting the
information. No answer was received. Moreover in November 2007, the researcher emailed the Consulate of Guatemala with two purposes, the first one to ask for tourism
information and the second one to be informed about the organization in Switzerland
responsible of promoting the country.
3.6 Data Analysis
After collecting the data from the interviews, notes were transcribed to paper. A
table dividing each participant’s answers was developed. Moreover similar key words
were outlined in order to indentify the frequency of the answer. In addition, three
variables were developed: the first one was tour operators’ knowledge; the second one
was the information about Guatemala that they had and transmitted to their clients and
23
the last variable was their image perception of the destination. The hypothesis was proven
by analysing the findings and the relationship between these variables.
3.7 Research Ethics
The research was based on the ethic principles of confidentiality, furthermore
voluntary participation was accentuated. During the interviews participant’s freedom of
withdrawing from the research was clarified. When transcribing the answers,
confidentiality, privacy and anonymity were maintained.
3.8 Summary of key findings
In this chapter, the methodology was described.
The research philosophy,
positivism was chosen to have a neutral position in the study and to be able to provide
with data that could be used for further studies. The approach is inductive and the
strategy exploratory. Unstructured and in-depth interviews were developed to analyse
tour operators’ perception and to encourage discussion. The analysis of the interviews
was done through transcription and identifying variables with the purpose of analysing
their relationship. Throughout the research study, ethical issues were carefully
considered.
24
4.0 Results
4.1 Introduction
The following chapter will review the collected data of the research paper. In order to
gather the information, six personal interviews were carried out. According to the results,
the hypothesis will be tested and the research question will be answered (Saunders, Lewis
& Thornhill, 2007). The purpose is not only revealing the results but also showing
participants behaviour and expressions during the interviews.
The results in this chapter will be divided into three sections following the topics of
the interview as it was described on chapter 3. Finally a summary of key findings will be
presented that will be important for the analysis, conclusions and recommendations.
4.2 Quantitative data and demographic
The six interviews were composed by tour operators from four different agencies
located in the cities of Bern and Zürich. The first part of the interview was four closed
questions aiming to get quantitative and demographic data. The purpose of these
questions was to find out the participants overall experience as tour operators, as well
their experiences in selling the destination. These findings are illustrated in Figure 4.1.
The sample consisted of six interviewees; five were male and one female. All of
them had been working as a tour operator for an average of 13 years. In total 83% of the
participants had been to Guatemala before and the other 17% had not. One of the
fundamental concerns of the research was if the tour operators had sold trips to
Guatemala in the past year. Most of the participants could not remember when was the
25
last time that they had sold a trip to the destination. All of them agreed with the fact that
it was very rare that a client would want to travel to Guatemala.
Table 4.1: Sample description
Gender
Frequency
Male
Female
Total
Have you ever been to Guatemala?
Yes
No
Years working as tour operator
10
5
18
16
6.5
23
13
Average
Trips sold to the destination
25
10
40
40
0
3
20
Average
5
1
6
5
1
4.3 Image Perception
The first three questions of the second part of the interview were developed with
the objective of learning the respondents’ image perception of Guatemala as a tourism
destination. Moreover, it was also important to find out about their opinion on the
Guatemala’s logo and slogan.
26
By analysing the answers to the first question about the first thing that came to
their minds when hearing the word Guatemala, almost a 100% of the participants thought
that Guatemala was dangerous and an insecure place. A further negative answer was that
it was a poor country. Another word that repeated itself was culture, especially the Mayan
culture. Tikal, one of the tourism places in Guatemala was surprisingly mentioned only
by a 16% of the interviewees. An important observation about their answers on this
question was that they mostly depended on their experience when visiting the country.
33% of the participants mentioned Lake Atitlán, because they had spent most of their
time in this place. Another 33% also mentioned Civil war. Astonishingly one of the
answers was Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Prize 1992. When asking the participant the
reason why he had thought of this, the answer was because she represented a symbol of
peace and sadness; she was part of Guatemalan’s history.
While almost a 100% of the participants was aware of the insecurity in the
country and that generally the media showed a negative image of the destination, only
one of them mentioned that the destination had a positive image. This participant had
never been to Guatemala before.
When asking about the Guatemalan’s slogan none of the participants knew exactly
what it was. The interviewer had to show the logo first in order to get an answer to the
question. Only half of the respondents said the logo was nice, they liked the colours in
particular. Most of them agreed with the fact that it was hard to identify that it was a logo
of Guatemala and that it was necessary to be informed about it. None could identify that
27
the logo was related to the culture and that the colours had a different meaning. Only one
participant thought the logo was representative but could not say the exact reason why.
The third question was about the new brand slogan “Soul of the Earth”, its
perception and their idea after hearing it. Once again the interviewer had to say the slogan
before they could give an answer. No one of the participants new exactly what the slogan
was. After hearing it, they all thought it was a nice slogan. The majority of the
respondents thought of a natural place, with rich culture, as well as a historical place.
4.4 Previous knowledge about Guatemala
The results to the fourth questions were divided into two topics. The first one was the
participants’ knowledge about Guatemala and the second one what their opinion on what
could be done to improve people’s awareness of the destination. The interviewer could
notice that to the first topic, participants’ answers depended on their previous visits to the
destination. Their answers depended on what they had seen and experienced on their trip.
Even though most of the respondents had been to Guatemala before, their answers were
that they did not know much. Two key answers that were identified while transcribing the
findings were that they knew about its culture and history. The answers to the second part
of this question was more varied, but they all agreed on the fact that there was the need
do more tourism promotion and to be more present in the media. Some of the
recommendations were to participate on tourism fairs, advertise more, to build important
relationships with specialized tour operators and airlines. Furthermore they thought it was
important to be present on TV shows, and mostly focus on the country’s unique
characteristics. They all thought there was not enough information about Guatemala. An
28
interesting comment was that Guatemala’s Tourism Board should focus on positive
mouth to mouth promotion to fight all the negative information on the news and
television. One of the respondents though it was a good idea that travellers and expedition
guides should make presentations of their trips to Guatemala with many pictures. He
thought this was useful because people like to listen to personal experiences. In general
all participants concluded that improving people’s awareness of Guatemala was very
difficult.
Analysing the answers to question five about what participants thought it was
Guatemala’s main tourism attraction, the results show that most of them could think of
more than one characteristic. The following table shows participants answers. In order to
create the table, each characteristic or attraction was underlined in the transcriptions (see
Appendix G) as subsequent a percentage of its frequency was created.
Table 4.2: Guatemala’s main tourism attractions
Tourism Attraction
Antigua Guatemala
Chichicastenango
Tikal
Local markets
Mayan culture and culture in general
Panajachel and Lago Atitlán
Spanish schools
Quetzaltenango
Volcanoes
Total
Frequency Percentage
5
24%
2
10%
4
19%
1
5%
3
14%
2
10%
2
10%
1
5%
1
5%
21
29
Figure 4.1: Participants’ opinion on Guatemala’s main tourism attraction (percentage)
Results show that Antigua Guatemala, Chichicastenango and Tikal were the main
tourism attractions that came to the participant’s minds. In general it can be mentioned
that most of them thought of Guatemala’s biodiversity and culture. Only one participant
could not think of more than one attraction, he had never been to Guatemala.
4.5 Information provided to tourists
One of the fundamental concerns of the research project was to find out where the
tour operators actually get their information about the destination. The findings to this
question will be of high value to analyse the need to establish marketing communication
30
strategies between Guatemala and distribution channels. It was found that none of the
participants had direct communication to any travel agency, organization or personal
contact in charge of tourism promotion. Just one tour operator actually had contact with
other tour operator in Yucatán, Mexico. Another respondent mentioned that they had
good communications with some Spanish Schools in Antigua Guatemala. Half of them
got their information from other tour operator in Switzerland; they were using the
catalogue from Salinatours. The most common sources of information were the Internet
and previous personal experience. All the participants admitted that they did not have
much information about Guatemala because they did not sell trips to the destination that
often.
When asking the participants what country in America offers the same kind of
tourism products, the answers were very varied. It can be said that most of them
mentioned that Central America and Mexico were very similar in nature and culture.
Only one respondent mentioned South America, in particular Ecuador because of cultural
similarities. As mentioned in the literature review, chapter 2, Costa Rica is very famous
because of ecotourism and it is also very well known in the tourism industry. Therefore it
was interesting to find out if tour operators thought Costa Rica and Guatemala had certain
similarities. Respondents answered that Costa Rica was more developed in terms of
ecotourism; also that it was focusing on developing mass tourism. On the other hand,
Guatemala was more attractive because of its cultural inheritance.
Question eight asked the respondents what was the first country that came to their
minds if they were planning on travelling to Central America. The results were
31
surprisingly, since most of the participants mentioned Mexico as first option, even though
this country is not part of Central America. Costa Rica was mentioned twice as first
choice. The three top countries were Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala. Another
opinion was that Mexico was a preference because it was easy to travel to; since there are
many ways to fly there and many vacational packages are offered by tour operators.
When asking the participants what promotional material they had from
Guatemala, the answers were very similar. Only one of them used the agency’s own
catalogue with promotions and special packages to Central America and another one had
received a magazine from a tour operator in Germany, the rest did not have any
additional information except for the Salinatours catalogue.
Given that tour operators have the power to influence travellers’ buying behaviour
(Morrison, 2002), the next question had the purpose of learning more about their
recommendations to tourists going to Central America. The majority of the tour operators
said that first of all they would ask the client about his/her wishes and the activities
he/she was planning on doing. If the client was willing on learning about new cultures
and wished to visit a different place, then they would recommend him/her to go to
Guatemala. The top three destinations were again Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
When asking the participants why they had chosen the first two countries, the answer was
because both destinations were safer than Guatemala. Moreover if the client was looking
for ecotourism, they would recommend Costa Rica.
Concerning the last question respondents had the following opinions: if a client
wished to travel to Guatemala most of them would tell him/her about their own
32
experience, so that the tourist could have a better idea of what to expect and where to go.
They would recommend this person to be careful, to be prepared for new experiences and
use a tourist guide. Each one of the participants would use the internet, personal
experience and catalogues as promotional material. Again, Guatemala’s security issues
were mentioned.
4.6 Further opinions
Part of the interview strategy was to collect meaningful and important data. With this
purpose whenever the interviewer felt that the participant’s opinion could be of great
importance for the research, different questions were asked in order to get a more
descriptive and detailed answers. Only one respondent did not want to answer nor give
more recommendations.
One of the topics that were asked was tourism in Costa Rica. They mentioned that
the destination had a positive image. The advantage of Costa Rica was that it had good
transportation methods. In contrast another respondent had a different opinion, he thought
Costa Rica was losing its image because it was selling everything to foreign investors and
therefore focusing on massive tourism without caring for the economic development and
well being of the locals. It was very interesting to get to know that Costa Rica develops
good relationships with tour operators all over the world. In Switzerland they come to
school agencies with their promotional material.
Another opinion about Guatemala’s image was that not many people could relate
Guatemala with Mayan culture. Only studied people were able to distinguish Tikal as a
Mayan city. The problem also relies on the fact that most tour operators sell packages to
33
Mexico combined with Guatemala, but tourists were not informed that the Mayan culture
was mostly developed in Guatemala.
The interviewer had the need to ask respondents’ opinion on what kind of tourists
travelled to the destination. The answer was that most of them were backpackers as well
as group excursions.
An important opinion was of the only female in the group of participants. She
mentioned that it was very hard for women to travel to Guatemala. Moreover she was
scared to go there again because of so much violence against women.
4.7 Exploratory findings
As part of the collection of promotional material, which was mentioned in the
methodology of the study, the researcher approached the Guatemalan Tourism Board and
the Embassy in Geneva for tourism information. The objective was to gather the
information and have a better knowledge of what was being distributed to the
intermediaries. The findings were the following: two videos and brochures were provided
by the tourism board. When asking them for collaboration on the present project, no
answer was received. Moreover, it was found that the Embassy did not provide any
tourism information because they were not in charge of these activities.
4.8 Key findings
Based on the results presented in this chapter it can be concluded that participants
mainly distinguish Guatemala as a cultural destination. No tour operator could identify
Guatemala’s tourism logo. After having to show it to them, they still could not relate the
34
logo with the country’s characteristics. The slogan was also unknown for the participants.
They thought it described a cultural, antique and ecological destination. Most tour
operators would recommend Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala; although they still think
Guatemala is not as developed in terms of tourism as the other two countries. After going
through the interviews it was found that Guatemala’s main issue is its national insecurity
and bad image in the media. Participants’ recommendations to improve people’s
awareness were mainly to have more presence in international promotional activities and
build important relationships with distribution agencies.
After revealing the results, the hypothesis is accepted. Tour operators’ image
perception of Guatemala is unclear mainly because of a lack of information.
35
5.0 Conclusions and Recommendations
5.1 Introduction
In the following chapter conclusions of the research will be made. After analysing
the results, recommendations to the tourism industry in Guatemala and future research
will be described. This chapter intends to relate the findings described on the literature
review and the results of the interviews. Each research objective will be addressed.
Furthermore, limitations of the study will be explained in detail.
5.2 Conclusions to the research
In chapter two it was highlighted that understanding and receiving information was
the most important aspect in the process of building perceptions. These also depend on
personal ways of thinking, the environment and people’s experiences. (Kotler & Keller,
2006). As mentioned by Page and Connel (2006), destinations need to have a positive
image on travellers in order to increase their tourism flow. The literature review
mentioned that perceptions of a tourism destination also were influenced by the its
particular characteristics and attributes, as well as the way these were promoted to the
public. The role of distribution channels is very important for a destination’s development
and success. Marketing organizations should create attractive and effective promotional
campaigns and transmit them to the public through tour operators or travel agencies.
The outcomes of this study show that the majority of the participants did not have a
specific image of Guatemala as a tourism destination. They could all agree that it had a
rich cultural and ecological image. Despite this similarity, respondent’s behaviour when
36
answering this question was of indecision. They could not give an immediate opinion.
According to the results and the literature findings, it can be concluded that their image
was influenced by their personal knowledge. This can be proven with the fact that they
mostly mentioned characteristics that they had experienced during their trip. On the other
hand the only respondent that hadn’t been to the destination could not justify his answer.
According to him, Guatemala’s image was positive but was not able to give a further
opinion. The same behaviour was observed when asking participants about Guatemala’s
main tourism attraction.
In general it can be confirmed that participants did not have any awareness of
Guatemala’s tourism campaign logo or slogan. They could not relate it to the country
either, the only characteristic that they found attractive about it, was the colours. After
hearing the slogan “Soul of the Earth” they thought of a place with rich natural resources
as well as historical importance. The reason for their unawareness could be that there has
been no promotion of the logo in Switzerland. Without any representative in the country,
communication objectives cannot be achieved and the brand’s identity cannot be
transmitted.
None of the tour operators knew much about Guatemala. Again, their information
relied on their experiences but they admitted they hadn’t heard anything about the
destination in any sort of media. However they could say that they knew something about
its culture and history. Nevertheless they could all agree that it was a dangerous place and
that insecurity was one of its main issues.
37
Their recommendations to improve people’s awareness of Guatemala were all related
to the same topic, which was that the tourism industry should try to have representatives
in Europe and participate in as many promotional activities as possible. They mentioned
that there was only one organization in charge of promotion in Germany. Furthermore the
findings revealed a significant need to work together with specialized tour operators.
Participants mentioned that people were looking more and more for unique and specific
activities, this could be a trend that the tourism industry should take under consideration.
Besides analysing tour operators’ perception and knowledge about Guatemala, this
study studied participants’ recommendations to travellers. The analysis indeed found that
they would only suggest travelling to the destination after making sure that the person
was looking for a unique experience and to do some cultural tourism. They would all
mention the security issue. In some cases, Guatemala would not be the first country they
would recommend to go in Central America.
Findings of the research also face limitations that will be mentioned in the
subsequent section.
5.3 Limitations of the study
This study faced some limitations. The main issue was part of the sample selection.
As the study focused on Guatemala, there was the need to select participants that would
sell the country as a destination. The sample size was narrowed by doing on-line research
and with the contribution of another tour operator, as it was mentioned on chapter 3 when
describing the methodology of the paper. Because of this characteristic, the sample only
included a small number of possible participants. Therefore results cannot be generalised
38
to all tour operators in Switzerland. Moreover a geographical selection needed to be
done; Bern and Zürich were chosen for the study because of their importance and
relevance in the country. Other cities were not selected because of the time-frame
limitation as well as financial concerns of the researcher. Another limitation was that
some possible participants refused to be part of the research, which narrowed the sample
size to a smaller size. Moreover it has to be mentioned that participants were only
representing their agencies, which highlights the difficulty of generalization.
5.4 Reflection on research
During the collection of the data, possible participants were approached through a
letter which was sent by e-mail, explaining the reason why they had been selected and the
purpose of the study. The problem with this method was that not everyone responded on
the same time frame. This issue delayed the collection of data and the entire research
process. A specific time frame to settle the interview had to be given in order to be able to
proceed with the sessions. This might not have been the right procedure, given that after
letting them know about it, some of the possible participants did not reply ever again.
Moreover, the data collection was carried out only by the researcher. Because of the time
limit, each interview was done on the same week. This meant that the researcher had to
travel to Zürich and Bern several times in one week, which was time consuming. For the
next research, it would be recommendable to contact the respondents in the first week of
the term.
39
5.5 Recommendations
5.5.1 Recommendations to the tourism industry in Guatemala
According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2007), recommendations are one of
the most important parts of a study. In this chapter the third objective of the study will be
addressed. The following recommendations are directed to the tourism industry in
Guatemala on how to improve their positioning image and develop effective
communication strategies.
The tourism industry in Guatemala should be aware of the need of having a positive
and clear image in the tourists’ minds. According to the findings and its analysis,
Guatemala’s image perception is not consistent, which highlights the need to work on a
better positioning. Some of the respondent’s of the study made emphasis on the fact that
there is no need to do mass tourism. Guatemala has some attributes that make the country
unique and special. For the participants it was important to take advantage of a country’s
competitive values however advertising only to special niches to give the destination
certain exclusiveness. The key to a successful positioning is knowing the demands
characteristics (Kotler, Bowen & Makens, 2006). This means that there is a need to
analyse what type of tourism actually travels to Guatemala and is looking for the tourism
products that the country is offering.
Results showed that participants that had been to Guatemala before could identify
its characteristics better than those who had not. However this reveals that besides
personal experiences, there were no other informational resources available for tour
operators. A recommendation would be to distribute as much promotional material as
40
possible, especially to tour operators and travel agencies. One of the maps that were
being used by a participant was from 1992, which means that they do not have updated
information. As it was mentioned in the literature review, distribution channels are very
important in particularly their interaction with the tourists (Morrison, 2002). This is the
reason why it should be taken under consideration to have a representative in Switzerland
who would be in charge of tourism promotion and of building important relationships
with different intermediaries. Moreover the Tourism Board should be present in every
tourism presentation, fair or other important activities.
As for the development of Guatemala’s brand, findings show that there is a
complete unawareness of it. Even though the logo and slogan might be simple and
attractive, people are not able to identify it. After showing it to the participants, they still
could not understand its meaning. It is important to promote the brand’s identity, values
and culture (Chernatony, 2005). A simple recommendation was given by one of the
participants which was to be present in international aircrafts that fly to several
destinations. People need to have a general idea about the destination in order to be able
to identify the brand; therefore there is the need to communicate new positive news to the
people, always focusing on transmitting a consistent message.
Another participant mentioned that Guatemalan Tourism Board was promoting the
destination as safe and easy to travel, to his opinion this was not true. Based on this
comment the researcher recommends to the industry not to forget the reality of the
country and always show the true characteristics of their tourism products. It is important
that perceptions are the same as the reality (Page & Connel, 2006).
41
Most of the tour operators combined Guatemala with other countries in their
tourism packages, such as Mexico, Belize or Honduras. This strategy is beneficial
because it might attract a higher tourism flow to the destinations. However it should be
recommended to also work on the creation of independent packages. As it was pointed
out, when tourists book a combined trip with several destinations, he/she does not realize
their particular attributes. Moreover another recommendation would be to promote
different and alternative tourism destinations inside Guatemala; this would enhance
people’s knowledge and it could be a positive strategy to create better and unique
experiences.
5.5.2 Recommendations for future research
As it has been mentioned in the research, Guatemala’s tourism industry is still in
the process of development. In order to contribute to a successful tourism grow, there
should be further research about tour operators’ as well as tourists’ perception of
Guatemala. This study will hopefully be the beginning of a bigger research and will be
useful as a basis and an example.
Further researches should focus on covering a broader sample size to be able to
generalize results and findings. Research should not be only focused on Switzerland but
also in other countries until having a general perception of the European market. For this
study, interviews were chosen as the research collection tool, future projects could also
use other methods such as questionnaires or focus groups.
42
This research paper only focused on image perception, general knowledge and
information provided to the tourist. Other studies could research more about visitors
profile to contribute to a better market segmentation.
Results showed that tour operators did not have any updated promotional material.
One of the intentions of the researcher was to obtain all kind of brochures, pictures and
videos about Guatemala in order to show them to the participants; unfortunately this
could not be done. Future research should try to get this information and provide it to all
the respondents. This would help with the distribution of the material and would increase
their knowledge and awareness of the destination.
43
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INGUAT, (2007). Boletín de estadísticas de turismo 2007. Departamento de
investigación y análisis de mercados, sección estadística: Guatemala.
Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo, (n.d). Guatemala: Información turística. INGUAT:
Guatemala.
Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo, (2004). Descripción logo: Alma de la tierra.
INGUAT: Guatemala
Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo, (2006). Boletín anual No.35. Estadísticas de turismo
2006. INGUAT: Guatemala.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K.L. (2006). Marketing management. (12th ed.). New Jersey:
Pearson Education, Inc.
Kotler, P., Bowen, J.T., and Makens, J.C. (2006). Marketing for hospitality and tourism.
(4th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Middleton, V. (2001). Marketing in travel and tourism. London: Butterworth-Heinemann
Morgan, N., & Pritchard, A. (2000). Tourism promotion and power: Creating images,
creating identities. West Sunssex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
44
Morrison, A.M. (2006). (12th ed.). Marketing management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Page, S.J., & Connel, J. (2006). Tourism: A modern synthesis. (2nd ed.). London:
Thomson Learning.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007). Research methods for business students.
(4th ed.). London: Pearson Education Limited.
Tourism Australia, (2006). A uniquely Australian invitation: Strategy and Execution.
Australia: Australian Government.
45
Appendices
Appendix A- Logo and slogan of Guatemala
46
Appendix B - Dimensions and attributes determining the perceived tourist
destination image
Natural Resources
Weather
Temperature
Rainfall
Humidity
Hours of sunshine
Beaches
Quality of seawater
Sandy or rocky beaches Length of the beaches Overcrowding of beaches
Wealth of countryside Protected nature reserves Lakes, mountains, deserts, etc.
Variety and uniqueness of flora
and fauna
Tourist Leisure and Recreation
Theme parks
Entertainment and sports activities
Golf, fishing, hunting, skiing, scuba diving, etc.
Water parks
Zoos
Trekking
Adventure activities
Casinos
Night life
Shopping
Natural Environment
Beauty of the scenery Attractiveness of the cities and
towns
Cleanliness
Overcrowding
Air and noise pollution
Traffic congestion
General Infrastructure
Development and quality of roads, airports and ports Private and public transport
facilities Development of health services Development of
telecommunications
Development of commercial
infrastructures
Extent of building development
Culture, History and Art
Museums, historical buildings,
monuments, etc.
Festival, concerts, etc. Handicraft
Gastronomy
Folklore
Religion
Customs and ways of life
Source: Beerli & Martín (2004) p. 659
47
Appendix C1 – Letter sent to the Tourism Board
Daniela Ramírez Maza
[email protected]
Institut Hôtelier César Ritz
Englisch-Gruss-Strasse 43
3902 Brig, Switzerland
5 de Noviembre, 2007
Licenciado
Daniel Mooney
Director
Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo
Estimado Licenciado Mooney:
Mi nombre es Daniela Ramírez Maza, guatemalteca y estudiante de Hotelería y Turismo
en el Institut Hôtelier César Ritz en Suiza. Me encuentro realizando mi proyecto de
graduación el cual se titula “Análisis de percepción de tour operadores sobre Guatemala
como destino turístico”. He escogido este tema porque estoy consciente de la necesidad
de mejorar el posicionamiento de Guatemala y diversificar su oferta turística, así también
porque considero importante conocer cuál es la imagen del país que tienen las
organizaciones encargadas de distribuir sus productos turísticos en el extranjero.
El propósito del estudio es evaluar cuál es la imagen y el conocimiento que tienen los
tour operadores en Suiza sobre Guatemala. Se hará un estudio de percepción utilizando
entrevistas, luego se realizará una presentación de venta con material promocional de
Guatemala para después hacer una post-evaluación de percepción y actitudes hacia el
destino. Para el propósito del proyecto, es necesario contar con material actualizado,
asimismo que exponga los verdaderos atributos de nuestro país y nuevos destinos
turísticos.
Por esta razón me dirijo a usted para solicitar su colaboración y buenos oficios, para
enviarme vía correo electrónico, Courier o a través del consulado material publicitario,
videos, panfletos o cualquier información que pueda apoyar y darle un valor agregado a
mi proyecto. Debido al corto tiempo con el que cuento para realizar la investigación,
agradeceré su pronta respuesta.
En espera de una respuesta favorable.
Atentamente,
Daniela Ramírez
48
Appendix D1 – E-mail sent to the Guatemalan Consulate, Geneva
Estimado Sr. Sperisen-Yurt,
Reciba un cordial saludo de mi parte. Mi nombre es Daniela Ramírez Maza y estudio en
Suiza en César Ritz Colleges.
En el momento me encuentro realizando mi tesis de graduación y para ello necesito
información sobre las organizaciones o personas encargadas de promover Guatemala
como destino turístico en Suiza. Quisiera saber si el Consulado en Ginebra me podría
otorgar esa información. Su ayuda será de gran importancia para mí.
Muchas Gracias.
Atentamente,
Daniela Ramírez
[email protected]
49
Appendix D2 – Reply letter from the Ambassador
Estimada Daniela,
Es un gusto escuchar de Usted.
En lo particular para el tema de turismo creo que lo mejor será comunicarse con el
INGUAT en su pagina Web www.inguat.gob.gt, o en la pagina www.visitguatemala.com
Entiendo que el consulado no tiene mayor información turística. Nuestra Misión en
Ginebra esta enfocada a las negociaciones multilaterales en la OMC y no contamos con
mayor información turística. Si tengo alguna información adicional, me comunicare con
Usted inmediatamente.
Espero que en estas direcciones de internet le puedan ayudar con la información.
50
Appendix F1 – Interview sheet
November 2007
Dear participant,
I am currently working on my dissertation for the Bachelor of International Business in
Hotel and Tourism Management at the University Centre César Ritz in Brig, Switzerland.
The following interview is part of my research project. Moreover it has the purpose of
evaluating tour operators’ perception of Guatemala as a tourism destination.
The information given will be utilized only for the purpose of the study. Please note that
your participation is totally voluntary and you may withdraw from answering without
giving any reason.
Your opinion is very important. Should you have any further questions, I would be happy
to answer them.
Sincerely yours,
Daniela Ramírez
[email protected]
51
Appendix F2 – Interview questions
Interview
Gender: F__ M__
Years working as a tour operator: _____
Trips sold to the destination in the last year: ______
Have you ever been to Guatemala: Yes___ No ___
1. When you hear the word Guatemala, what is the first thing that comes to your
mind?
2. What do you think about the Guatemala's tourism campaign logo?
3. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the Guatemala's
slogan? What is your idea about the destination after hearing this?
4. What do you know about Guatemala? What can be done to improve people’s
awareness of Guatemala?
5. What do you think is Guatemala’s main tourism attraction?
6. Where do you get your information about the destination?
7. Which country in America would you think offers the same kind of tourism
products as Guatemala?
8. If you had the chance to go to Central America, which country is the first one that
comes to your mind?
9. What kind of promotional material do you have about Guatemala?
10. If a client comes to your agency and wishes to travel to Central America, which
country would you recommend him/her to go and why?
52
11. What would you say to a client that wants to travel to Guatemala? What kind of
promotional material would you show to this person? How do you sell the
destination?
53
Appendix G – Interview answers
Interview Gender
Years
working as a
tour operator
1
M
10
Trips sold
to the
destination
in the last
year
25
Have you ever
been to
Guatemala?
2
F
5
10
Yes, 1 time for 3
weeks. I loved
Guatemala and
would like to go
back someday
Yes, 1 time
3
M
18
40
Yes, 2 times
4
M
16
40
5
M
6 1/2
0
Yes, several
times. The
longest was for 4
months
YES, 1 time
6
M
23
3
No, just to
Mexico
54
Interview
1
1
Probably Lago Atitlán,
because I spent there most
of my time. Also chicken
buses. And also coffee,
good coffee!
2
culture, local people,
insecurity, civil war
3
The first thing that comes
to my head is Rigoberta
Menchú. Why? Because
she's a symbol of peace
and also sadness. I also
think of civil war. And a
good image would be
Lago Atitlán.Their image
is of a poor country.
The first thing is Tikal.
4
5
6
The first thing that comes
to my mind is that is
DANGEROUS,
especially Guatemala
City.
I think it has a positive
image. The first thing that
comes to my mind is the
Mayan culture.
QUESTIONS
2
3
The logo is very nice,
simple, but it's hard to
identify that it is from
Guatemala. If you haven't
informed yourself abut
the country, it is difficult
to relate it to Guatemalan
culture. I like it
I've never seen it before.
It's a nice logo but I
would never guess it
represents Guatemala.
Nice colours. (after
showing it to her)
I hadn't seen it before.
There is no promotion of
the logo.
Nature, ecotourism, volcanoes,
mountains, ancient country, old,
history. Most of it I would say:
Nature
Not much, nothing. I
hadn't seen it before.
I've never seen it before. I
don't think it is
representative of the
country.
I have no idea, haven't heard of it.
I think the logo is
representative, especially
the colours.
I think of history and the beginning of
culture.
What is the slogan? I think of a place
with beautiful landscapes and natural
resources. (after saying the slogan)
Mayan culture! I think of lots of
nature, stones, temples, jungle.
I've never heard it. After hearing it i
would think of nature and culture.
55
QUESTION
Interview
4
1
A) I spent 3 weeks in Guatemala. I spent most of my time with the locals and
travelling trough the country. I know its culture and history. Maybe work together
with specialist, tour operators. But small ones, individuals, more specialised. Focus
on segments and niches.
B) I would say to be more present in fairs. I think I saw them once in a fair. Then
also work together with other countries so they can receive the benefits of each
other. They should make presentations with pictures. For example travellers or
expedition guides should present their trips to the public, like a big exposition. Also
make TV shows or documentations. There are not enough pictures; people cannot
imagine what to expect if there is no information.
They should have more representatives in Europe. I think they have one in
Germany. Also to promote their beaches, Livingston is beautiful and no one knows
about it. Always promote the right places that represent the kind of tourism that
they are offering.
2
A) Well I don't know much about it, I just know they had a civil war and what I
saw while I was there. The culture is really rich and beautiful.
B) Firs of all they need to be present in every country. So far I haven't heard of any
representative here in Switzerland. There should be more information on the
media; maybe they could make more advertisement. Sometimes having good
relationships with airlines helps. I saw an advertisement of some brand of ice cream
not too long ago and they were promoting Mexico with the image of the Mayan
temples. The price was winning a trip to Mexico. They should do something like
that as well. The problem is that not many people relate Mayan culture to
Guatemala, it is more with Mexico.
3
A) I know a few things about Guatemala. I've been there two times already and we
travelled trough the whole country. B) One successful strategy is mouth to mouth
promotion. They should focus on having good things to tell to other people. Not
only the bad things we hear on TV or we read on the newspaper. Positive feedback
is necessary! I think in order to improve people's awareness they should be more
present on the media. To advertise on TV would be good or on aircrafts. They
shouldn't focus on mass tourism.
4
A) It is a nice place; they have a political left side.
B) Their problem is that they have an unstable political situation. It is a scary place.
They should focus more on their colours, country sides. Show this instead of bad
news.
5
A) I don't know much.
B) First they should improve the country's safety.
56
6
A) I only know about the Mayan culture, that there are places for diving and about
the jungle.
B) I would recommend leaving it like it is. Guatemala is a special country, it is
special and unique. Advertise more its special places and uniqueness.
QUESTIONS
Interview
5
6
1
Atitlán, and that region.
Chichicastenango, Antigua. The
big plus about Antigua is that it
offers the best prices in the market
for Spanish schools. Also Tikal is
an important tourist attraction
It's culture. Tikal and Antigua are
very well known.
When it comes to Guatemala, we work together
with a tour operator in Yucatan. They arrange
the tours for us and answer our questions. We
also work together with G.A.P, they manage big
group trips.
Definitely Tikal, Panajachel,
Quetzaltenango, Antigua. Maybe
the city, but not many people like
to go there. They say it's dirty and
not very attractive. Definitely not
the beaches, their tourism is more
culture and nature. People are
scared to go to Petén, that is sad. A
good way to go there is through the
river El Naranjo. The volcanoes
are also an attraction. Also the
Spanish schools because they are
so cheap.
The colorful markets, Tikal,
Antigua Guatemala, old Spanish
architecture, Chichicastenango.
From the Internet, we work together with other
tour operators in Switzerland. Also we have
good relations with Spanish schools in Antigua
Guatemala and Quetzaltenango.
5
Probably Antigua. I don't know.
Just from my experience. I use the Internet.
6
Definitely the Mayan culture.
Our information we get it from a bigger tour
operator, Salinatours.
2
3
4
We ask other tour operators.
From my experience, Geo magazines, Tv
shows.
57
QUESTIONS
Interview
7
1
Nicaragua is very similar but is
not that known. Guatemala is
more organized in terms of
tourism than Nicaragua. Also
parts of Mexico are similar,
Chiapas for example or San
Cristóbal de las Casas.
Maybe El Salvador, Honduras
and Nicaragua. They all offer
nature, culture.
Maybe Costa Rica, but it is
much more expensive. They are
alike just because of the jungle.
But in Costa Rica doesn't offer
culture. Other countries that are
similar are Mexico: Chichen Itza
and the temples. Honduras, and
Nicaragua. But this last one is
just starting to work on tourism.
Mexico, Guatemala
and Costa Rica.
We have our own
catalogue, small brochures,
maps, general information,
brief history. Only the
highlights.
Costa Rica, then
Guatemala
4
South America, parts of Mexico,
Ecuador. Because of the culture
and landscapes.
I would go to Mexico
and Costa Rica.
We use this catalogue from
Salinatours. We don't have
much more information.
Not much, we just got a
catalogue from a tour
operator in Germany called
Nature Team, Aventoura.
But it's not specialised on
Guatemala, it is about Latin
American in general. We
have this map and that is it.
Sometimes we use the
Internet.
We don't own any
promotional material, we
use the Salinatours
catalogue.
5
Honduras, Panama, both because
of their nature and culture.
I would go to Costa
Rica and Mexico.
6
Mexico, Costa Rica because of
its nature. But they are only
similar not the same.
Mexico, because it is
easier to travel to.
There are special
charter flights,
especially to Cancún.
There are also special
packages for Mexico
that include beach
holidays and Mayan
culture. I would go to
Costa Rica and then to
Guatemala.
2
3
8
Not Costa Rica, maybe
Guatemala and
Honduras.
9
Just catalogues from other
tour operators. We don't
have anything about
Guatemala.
We have brochures. But we
don't have any contact with
someone in Guatemala.
58
QUESTIONS
Interview
10
11
1
Well first I would ask him/her what exactly he is
looking for, what are his/her plans. If he/she is
interested in culture, what kind of person he/she is
and if he/she is looking for something special.
Then I would suggest Guatemala so he/she can
learn about real culture.
2
It all depends on what this person wishes to visit.
What kind of activities he/she is looking for. But I
would recommend going to Costa Rica for
ecotourism and Mexico as well. After these two
destinations, I would think of Guatemala.
I would recommend spending 2 to
3 weeks in Guatemala. To be
prepared to experience something
different and adventurous. I would
tell him/her that is not really a
touristic place and to be open
minded and enjoy the culture.
I recommend being very careful.
And to expect a very colourful
country. Not to expect luxury, just
a simple kind of tourism.
3
It depends on the type of trip he/she wants to do.
But if he is willing on going to Central America I
would probably recommend Guatemala and
Honduras.
4
First Mexico, then Costa Rica, third Guatemala
and last Honduras and Panama.
5
It depends on the people and what they wish to
visit. I would recommend Costa Rica, it's safer.
And Mexico of course.
6
Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala. We sell
Mexico and Guatemala as a package.
If a client comes to my agency and
wishes to go to Guatemala, my
first reaction is WHY?? (very
surprised) I would recommend
them to have a guide. Then to stay
in Antigua to start, although I
always say that Antigua is not
representative of Guatemala. If
someone wants to get to know the
real Guatemala, they should go to
other places, small towns.
I would tell him/her my own
experience, use maps and
magazines.
I would ask this person what
he/she intends on doing in
Guatemala, what are his/her
expectations. And then share my
experience with her/him.
That it is a little dangerous. I
would show him/her brochures and
use the internet to show him/her
some pictures.
59
Interview
Other topics that were asked during the interview and further opinions
Costa Rica
The big plus about Costa Rica is that it transmits an image of security and education.
People can travel more easily in Costa Rica, because it's a smaller country and also
because there are more facilities and transportation methods. In Guatemala travelling by
car is very difficult because the roads are so insecure. We always recommend travelling
in groups in a bus. No matter if it is a group or just one person; we always recommend
having a guide that speaks Spanish, a local guide.
On the contrary, you never hear anything bad about Costa Rica, you don't need a guide.
They combine different types of tourism.
1
Other opinions or recommendations
Guatemala is not known because of its beaches, there is no awareness of Guatemala as a
beach and sun destination. Politics in tourism is a big issue, in Guatemala it contributes to
its bad image. Just like Colombia or Venezuela.
Costa Rica comes to school the tour operators, Guatemala should do the same. This
strategy increases their presence. The Guatemala Tourism Board should build important
relationships and focus on the special things of the country.
How do you sell the destination
We book Guatemala combined with Mexico. The packages that we sell the most are
Tikal and Ceibal, the one that shows the local markets and local culture.
Do you think many people relate Mayan culture with Guatemala?
Only people who have studied the Mayan culture or have heard something about it. Some
people might think it all happened in Mexico. There is a new movie about the Mayan
culture maybe that helps.
2
Do you think most of the tourists that go to Guatemala are backpackers?
A great number of them are. But also a lot of groups go to Guatemala and I guess
business people as well.
Other comments
It is so hard to travel in Guatemala. Especially if I'm a woman. There is a huge language
barrier between the tourist and the locals. Sometimes this is also dangerous, since they
don't understand why tourists are there to visit. Some think tourists are there to harm
them.
I think Guatemala has a lot to offer, but they don't know how to take advantage of their
resources.
60
3
How could Guatemala improve its bad image?What other recommendations would you
give?It is difficult to improve a bad image. People forget sometimes or they think it
cannot happen to them, which is good for Guatemala. They should improve the safety in
the country. That's their main issue. They also have a huge political issue. If people in
Guatemala are happy, they wouldn't hurt others. Their problem is a matter of economy
and development. They should avoid differences between the local people and the so
called "ladinos". The Tourism Board says it is safe to travel to Guatemala, when it is the
contrary. They shouldn't lie. What other recommendations would you give? To learn
from others. Take other countries as examples and learn from their mistakes. Do not copy
from them; don't make the same mistake as Costa Rica that is losing its land because it is
selling everything to American investors. Involve the community and make them active
in the tourism activities. They should build good relationships with tour operators. We
have power over our customers. They should have famtrips. How was your experience
when you were in Guatemala?When I was there it was the time of "colera", the disease.
The experience was beautiful; we went to secret places that not many people know. We
also went to Puerto Barrios, but it wasn't a nice place. We travelled with the bus all the
time; it was a great experience, but also a dangerous one. You know the bus drivers in
Guatemala are crazy. I think for a woman is very difficult to travel to Guatemala.
4
What other recommendations would you give?
To create more promotional material, like a book with all the information and provide it
to special tour operators. Information is necessary.
5
No further comments.
6
What kind of tourists do you think travel to Guatemala?
I would say backpackers, young people looking for adventure but not for other reasons.

Universidad del Istmo Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y

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