"The production concept, focusing on mass production and low cost; The product concept,focusing on product features as quality, performance etc., believing that customers will buy,because the product is exceptional;The selling concept, based on aggressive sales and promotional effort; and The marketingconcept, based upon the satisfaction of the needs and wants of a chosen target market in a moreeffective and efficient.Comparing with the marketing of destinations, these are seldom marketed on the basis ofthe marketing concept, partly because the destination mix is fixed to a certain extent. Destinationmarketers therefore often apply a combination of the product and selling concept; attempting toimprove the product over time adding extras, for which they believe customers are willing to paymore.MARKETING TOOL2.1.1 ProductKotler et al (200), defines product as anything that is offered to a market for attention,acquisition, use or consumption and that might satisfy a need or a want. Stone (2000) definesproduct as the goods or services that a seller offers to the consumer to satisfy a need. In societalmarketing, the term product is what a marketer is selling, the desired behavior and the associatedbenefits of that behavior. It includes any tangible objects and services developed to support andfacilitate the target audiences behavior change (Kotler, Roberto and Lee, 2002). Palmer (2000)asserts that the product is the heart of a company’s marketing activity. Consumers buy a productas comprising complex bundles of attributes which must be translated into benefits forcustomers. It is the focal point by which companies seek to satisfy customer needs and could betargeted or intangible items that satisfies a need. Product is anything that satisfies a need or awant and can be offered in exchange, a good is a tangible object while a service is not tangiblebut provides a benefit (Skinner).Branding is a major issue in product strategy, the most valuablebrands have brand equity and are considered a company asset. According to Kotler, the bestbrand name suggests something about the product benefits; suggests product qualities; are easyto pronounce, recognize and remember; are distinctive and do not carry negative meanings orconnotations in other countries or languages.6 The tourism product is an experience achieved through the combination of a diverse array ofproducts and services (Heath & Wall, 1994; Scott, Parfitt & Laws, 2000). It is also referred to asa destination, amalgams of individually produced tourism amenities and services(accommodation, transportation, catering, entertainment etc) and a wide range of public goods(such as landscape, scenery, sea, lakes, socio­cultural surroundings, atmosphere etc). For visitors,the product is the total experience including attitudes and expectations. According to Middleton& Clarke (2001), the overall tourism product is the package, and might be defined in terms offive main components, namely; destination attractions; destination facilities and16 services;accessibility of the destination (including transport); images, brands and perception; price to thevisitor. Hence, destination is a provider of experiences. Understanding the core product as wellas the facilitating, supportive and augmented products for each target market is of paramountimportance for destination marketing. The augmented environment will include intangibleelements such as interaction and customer participation as well as accessibility and physicalenvironment (Kotler et al,1996).2.1.2 PromotionPromoting destinations essentially implies the development of communicating channels withclientele and other stakeholders to increase awareness and persuade to purchase products.Promotion refers to any form of paid or non paid communication with the target market andincludes advertisement, sales promotions, personal selling, publicity and public relations anddirect marketing. Promotion is often referred to as marketing communication which involves allinstruments which the organization communicates with its target groups (Pelsmacker et al,2006). The main role of promotion is to bring existing and potential customers from a state ofrelative unawareness of the organizations product to a state of actively adopting them (Cole,1998). Stanton et al (1994) observes that promotion is the element in an organisation’s marketingmix that serves to inform, persuade and remind the market of a product and the organizationselling it, in hopes of influencing the recipient’s feelings, beliefs or behaviours.According to Ashworth and Voogd (1994), place promotion is the ‘selling of a selected packageof facilities or the selling of a place as a whole through images composed of various attributesassociated with it’. Place promotion forms part of a more extensive series of operations, placemarketing that is intended to ensure that ‘local activities are related as closely as possible to the7 demands of targeted consumers (Ashworth and Voogd 1994) A wide range of techniques areused, both 17 above and below the line (Kotler et al., 1996; Horner & Swarbrooke, 1996;Millington & Cleverdon, 1999).2.1.3 PlacePlace refers to distribution or channels used by films to enable customers access the firmsofferings. It is concerned with how to get the product to the market. Distribution is the process ofmanaging the product from the producer to the consumer (Dibb and Simkin, 2001). Assael(1993) defines distribution system as a group of independent businesses composed ofmanufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers designed to deliver the right set of products toconsumers at the right place and time. According to Needham et al (1999) distribution is theprocess of making goods and services available to those who want to buy them. Where and how you sell your product is the purpose of place strategies, the people and institution involvedin moving products from producers to consumers makeup the channel of distribution (Well et al,1996). The channel accomplishes all the tasks necessary to effect a sale and to deliver productsto the consumer (Hutt and Spen,1998).The concept of marketing channels is not limited to physical distribution of goods (Kotler, 1979),thus its is considered when moving a service from the supplier to the consumer in certain sectors.This may be direct or indirect. In tourism, distribution can be carried out directly or indirectly.Direct distribution means that the company takes full control of taking the tourism product to themarket such that the Organization is in direct contact with the consumer. Indirect distribution on the other handinvolves less company control over the process of reaching its market, i.e. the use ofintermediaries, brokers or tour operators. These intermediaries sell and distribute the tourismproduct which is complicated because it’s a service. The characteristics of services i.einseparability, intangibility, perish ability and Heterogeneity pose a challenge to the service providers especially the tourist product (Pender,1999). According to Donelly (1976) service marketers should take a fresh look at the channels ofdistribution for services as distinct from the channel concept 18 followed by goods. Donellyseeks to broaden our understanding by evaluating marketing channels for service as a separate8 decision area for those products. According to Cowell (1984), services are often supplied fromthe provider to the customer because production and consumption are simultaneous. i,einseparability.2.1.4 PricePrice is the value the seller and buyer assign to a product (Burnett an Moriathy, 1998). Craven(2000) defines pricing as the process of setting objectives, determining the available flexibility,developing strategies, setting prices and engaging in implementation and control. When settingprices, several principles guide the decision making and these include maximizing profits,profitability and target return. Once the pricing objective is clarified, specific prices can be set.There are three approaches marketers use to set prices; cost plus pricing, demand orientedpricing and competition oriented pricing ( Kibera and Waruingi, 1998). Weaver and Opperman(2000) suggest four categories of pricing techniques namely profit oriented pricing, salesoriented pricing, competition oriented and cost oriented pricing. Profit oriented pricing is apricing technique aimed at profit maximization and returns on investments. Sales orientedpricing focuses on consumer sales and can be divided into five subcategories namely marketorientation, maximization of sales volume, market share gain, market penetration and prestigepricing. Competitor oriented pricing uses competitor behavior as their major criterion for settingprices and to a large extent considered as a reactive approach and may involve matchingcompetitor prices or maintaining price differentiation an a level above or below that ofcompetitors. Cost oriented pricing is based on actual cost of providing the goods or services.Awide range of pricing techniques is applicable to tourism destinations (Meidan, 1995; Kotler etal, 1996). However, pricing is a difficult process for destinations as it is often determined by thepricing and marketing policies of individual enterprises both at the destination and distributors atthe place of origin. Local suppliers can have their own policy and thus co-coordinating andestablishing a destination wide pricing Strategy is almost unachievable. Furthermore, national economic policies and 19 economicconditions in the international marketplace also influence pricing. Therefore, both macro- and micro- economics determine the pricing function of tourismorganizations locally and destinations. The cost of living and employment, as well as inflation,9 exchange rates and local efficiency and competition all contribute to the pricing equation. Pricediscrimination is evident in this industry in that most products are priced according to the qualityand experience they offer.2.2.6PeopleZeithaml (2000), defines the concept of people as all human actors who play a part in servicedelivery and thus influence the buyer perception; namely the firm’s 20 personnel, the customer,other customers and the service environment. Service depends on people and the interactionbetween people, including the service provider’s staff, the customers and other customers.(Bennet, 2000). The value of people in the service delivery system becomes extremely importantin the co-creation of value (Gabriel, 2005). All human actors participating in the delivery of aservice are cues to the customers regarding the nature of the service itself. In tourism businesses,service forms a large part of the product offering. Service invariably involves front line peopleand it is here that a tourism offering can really do well or fail miserably. Organizations haveadopted the concept of Internal marketing which has been coined to characterize the sets ofactivities a firm must undertake to woo and win over the hearts and minds of its employees toachieve service excellence (Fifield, 1998). It is crucial to ensure that staff buy into the promise ofcustomer service excellence and carry out excellent service delivery at all times. Due to thestrength of word of mouth promotion in the tourism industry service excellence is paramount.People are the most importance element of any services. Since the people an organizationemploys are often part of the overall service experience encountered by the customers. Thispeople who referred involve the staff both direct and indirect to the customer consumption ofservice such as employees, management, customer, etc. This element hence involves aconsideration of the employment, training, and motivation of individual members of servicesstaff. Sometimes the role of the customer is also an important part of services too. In many times,the participation is an essential part to derive the benefit of services. For the hotel service,10 "