Digital Marketing Mix Strategies in the Tourism Industry in Zimbabwe: A Masvingo Tourism Destination Perspective

Digitalization is considered as the veritable vehicle of transformation for the tourism industry marketing in this age of the internet economy. It influences all business marketing processes before, during and after a tourism trip in a profoundly revolutionary way. Information distribution is quicker, better, and cheaper regardless of geographical and time limitation due to digitalization. The digital marketing mix, which consists of eproduct, eprice, eplace, epromotion, eprocess, epeople, and ephysical evidence, is a powerful tool in revolutionizing tourism marketing management globally including in Zimbabwe. The aim of the study was to examine the level of use and adoption of digital marketing mix strategies in the tourism industry’s accommodation sector in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. This study adopted a qualitative research design approach with twenty purposively selected key informants from the tourism industry in and around Masvingo Urban. The sample had managers and marketing managers of hotels and lodges who were respondents in the study. Interviews and analysis of digital platforms were the data collection methods. Data was thematically analyzed. The major finding is that the level of adoption and use of digital marketing mix strategies is varied and generally low. Most players still rely more on the traditional analogue marketing mix strategies. The paper recommends the tourism industry in Masvingo to fully adopt and utilize digital marketing mix strategies for them to achieve customer satisfaction and profitability

FACTORS INFLUENCING TOURISM DEMAND FOR MASVINGO PROVINCE IN ZIMBABWE

The demand for tourism in Masvingo Province (Zimbabwe) is influenced by various factors which are discussed in this paper. The article seeks to examine these factors with a view to providing recommendations for increased tourism demand for the province. Since tourism is regarded as a low hanging fruit in Zimbabwe, these recommendations are quite significant. Broadly two main factors influence tourism in a country. They include economic and social-psychological factors. Economic factors include: disposable income, gross national product per capita (GNP), private consumption, cost of living, tourism prices/costs, costs of living of destinations, exchange rate differentials, relative prices among competing destinations, promotional expenditure, marketing effectiveness and physical distance. On the other hand, the social-psychological factors include: demographic, motivational, travel preferences, benefits sought, images of destinations awareness of opportunities, cognitive distances, attitudes, amount of leisure time, paid vacations, past experience, health and safety considerations and the like.  Article visualizations

CHALLENGES OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN ZIMBABWE BETWEEN 1960 AND 2000

This paper examines the main challenges which confronted Zimbabwe’s tourism sector between 1960 and 2000. The Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965 led to the imposition of sanctions in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). This development set the stage for a long period of international isolation at regional and global levels. The negative image resulting from this event undermined tourism in the country. This was followed by the prosecution of the armed struggle between 1966 and 1979. Security threats undermined tourist arrivals in the country especially after the shooting down of the viscount by members of the Zimbabwe African People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) in 1978. Soon after independence in 1980, there was a surge in tourist arrivals into the country due to improved security within the country. However, the dissident menace in both Matabeleland and Midlands from 1982 to 1987 reversed the gains which had been realized at independence. After the signing of the unity, accord in 1987 there was a drastic improvement in security and this boosted tourist arrivals. However, most tourists came from neighboring South Africa and Zambia. Since some of them stayed with their relatives in Zimbabwe, they did not benefit tourist facilities such as hotels. Zimbabwe has drawn most of its tourists from its immediate neighbors while Kenya attracts tourists from as far as Europe and North America. In 2000, Zimbabwe’s tourism industry suffered yet another dent with the launch of the Fast Track Land Reform Program (FTLRP). Due to the violent and bloody nature of the event, it attracted negative publicity from the media which further undermined the tourist arrivals in the country. To date the country has lagged behind Kenya in attracting European and North American tourists who bring the much needed foreign currency.   Article visualizations

Profiling The Needs and Wants of Millennials in The Tourism Industry: Implications for Zimbabwe

Purpose: The main purpose of the paper is to profile the needs and wants of millennials in the tourism industry and their implications for tourism operators in Zimbabwe. Methods: The study adopted a qualitative design approach with document analysis being the data collection method. Data were analyzed thematically.  Results: The major finding was that millennials desire authentic and memorable experiences, they are highly knowledgeable, have strong digital skills, they are social media creatures and are permanently connected online, they are particular and question everything, they prefer leisure and recreational activities, they prefer hotel facilities with health-oriented facilities like fitness centers and they practice volunteer tourism.  Millennials are different, they think and act differently, and their travel choices and preferences are different from the generations before them. Implications: Tourism operators including hotels should adapt their service delivery systems to the needs and wants of millennials to achieve superior business performance. There is a need for the adoption of proactive marketing strategies as well as taking full advantage of the opportunities presented by millennials in the tourism industry in Zimbabwe

DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM TOURISM ENTERPRISES IN AND AROUND MASVINGO, ZIMBABWE

Tourism is viewed as one of the largest and fastest growing industries at the global level. Developing countries often see it as a low-hanging fruit in terms of stimulating economic development. A variety of perspectives has been explored in the study of tourism. However, one of the least researched issues is that of the demographic characteristics of the sector. Hence, there is a need to explore it. This study focusing on Masvingo Urban (Zimbabwe) examines several demographic features of the tourism industry. They include: age, gender, education as well as designation, nature and type of organization and experience. The data collection exercise was conducted in May, 2018. It is recommended that more such studies should be conducted so as to achieve more holistic views on the subject. Since women in the industry are outnumbered by men, there is a need to employ more of them in order to balance up the numbers. Although this study only focuses on Masvingo, there is a need to explore the issues at both national and regional levels so that policies can be drawn with a view to improve the situation.  Article visualizations

TOURISM DESTINATIONS, FACILITIES, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN ZIMBABWE

Major tourist attractions in Zimbabwe include: natural, cultural, historical, and wildlife found in game reserves and national parks. The Victoria Falls are among the major wonders of the country with a height of 108m and a width of up to 1708m. At peak flow of the Zambezi river nearly 550 million litres of water flow into the gorge. Due to the force of the water, the spray is pushed up into the sky reaching heights of over 400m which can be viewed from a distance of 50km away and can be felt throughout the town. Lakes Tokwe-Mukosi and Mutirikwi, Hwange and Gonarezhou national parks, Nyangani, Vumba and Chimanimani mountains, Great Zimbabwe Monuments and some cities are other attractions. This paper examines tourist attractions, facilities, arrivals, occupancy, challenges and opportunities in the country. It provides a comprehensive database of information about local tourist destinations, attractions and facilities in Zimbabwe. Since there is little information on the subject of Zimbabwe’s tourism destinations, this paper seeks to fill that gap. The information in this study was assembled in March 2018, based on document interrogation or literature surveys.  Article visualizations

Marketing mix strategies of small and medium tourism enterprises in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe

Abstract: The study sought to identify the marketing mix strategies of small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs), focusing on lodges and hotels of Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe. The continued low business performance by SMTEs in Masvingo Province motivated the study. The marketing mix theory underpinned the study. The ten tourism marketing mix strategies, namely product, price, place, promotion, people, process, physical evidence, programming, packaging, and partnership were the strategy variables of the study. The study employed a quantitative research approach. An online structured questionnaire was used to collect data from all the 250 owners and managers of SMTEs. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 was used for the analysis of data. The main study findings were that SMTEs in Masvingo Province use all the ten tourism marketing mix strategies, albeit with varying degrees of application. The three most used strategies were product, packaging, and price. The three least used strategies were people, programming, and partnership. The moderately used strategies were physical evidence, promotion, place, and process. The value of this study relates to the use of a ten tourism marketing mix framework by SMTEs. Implications are that study organisations may not reach full performance potential due to unequal use of the ten tourism marketing mix strategy elements