Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / This study is an attempt to shed light on how tour operators can help to promote tourism in the south coast region of KZN. Even though tourism claims to bring economic development to the tourist destinations, in some cases, the development of tourism has created important social transformation in the other sectors of the tourism destinations, where the relationship between other sectors of the tourism industry and tour operators was weak or even negative. For some people, this situation is no longer considered a sustainable way to travel and do business. Therefore, the tour operator’s business does not end at picking up and dropping off tourists at their booked accommodation. The aim is to explore the role of tour operators in promoting tourism in the south coast region of KZN. The objectives of the study are: to identify and examine the nature of the tour operators’ business; to identify and explore the role of tour operators in the tourism industry in sustaining their businesses; to identify the changes needed to improve the promotion and sustainability of both tourism in the south coast region of KZN and that of the tour operator; and to explore the challenges encountered by tour operators which hinder effective contribution to the economy of South Africa. This research explored and investigated the perceptions of the tour operators in the south coast region in KZN in terms of their business growth, their role as tour operators and the problems they may encounter in growing their small businesses. A quantitative research methodology was utilised to collect the primary data for this study. Data was collected through the use of a structured questionnaire. The sample size for the study was 50 tour operators. The results from the literature and primary study revealed some interesting findings from the objectives and each set of questions. The highlighted finding in the study revealed the need for tour operators to provide the best possible service as the tourists are important for the destination’s economy (TOI, 2008:108). The study revealed that tour operators have direct contact with clients when they take them on tours; hence, a personal one-on-one safe relationship is established with clients (Moutinho, 2011:161). The conclusions drawn from this study point to the lack of access to information that would enable the majority of tour operators to understand the tourism sector holistically. Furthermore, information available to tour operators owing to technological advancements has increased exponentially (e.g. internet access).

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the different Internet tools in a marketing strategy, which can be used within a tour operator in Sweden. The question is why did they choose these specifics Internet tools and how do they use it. Further, this project aims to contribute to the development of new knowledge regarding the online marketing strategies in the outbound tourism market.

Inbound tour operators play a key role in sustainable tourism development, as they are centrally positioned in the distribution chain and provide the link between the supply and demand of tourism products and services. Embedded in this position, inbound tour operators can put pressure on their suppliers to operate more sustainably, while educating their customers on sustainable tourism practices, and influencing consumers’ decision-making before the purchasing of tourism products and services. Inbound tour operators can further implement sustainable tourism practices as part of their business operations. To date, little research has focussed on inbound tour operators’ contribution to sustainable tourism development, especially in a developing country context. Sustainable inbound tour operators can also become certified by a sustainable tourism certification programme to showcase their commitment to sustainability. Various studies have highlighted the history, benefits and issues related to certification programmes, but few studies have investigated the perspective that inbound tour operators have towards sustainable tourism certification programmes. Making use of a qualitative research approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 South African inbound tour operators to investigate and identify the sustainable tourism practices currently being adopted within their organisations. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings produced a list of sustainable tourism practices currently being adopted by inbound tour operators in South Africa. This study proposes that sustainable tourism organisations should become certified by a national or global sustainable tourism certification programme, to prove that they are truly operating sustainably, thus decreasing the effects of greenwashing. In addition, the certification of tourism organisations can assist inbound tour operators in identifying truly sustainable suppliers, fostering the development of a sustainable supply chain management strategy. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Tourism Management / MCom / Unrestricted

Published Article / The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consumer-related information tour operators in South African have access to. Data was obtained by means of a self-administered computer-aided questionnaire forwarded to 1 000 tour operators; it was viewed by 360 tour operators and a response rate of 42,45% was achieved. The results indicate that 68,4% are satisfied with their information systems while a concerning low 34,9% 'Agree' that their information systems do provide them with consumer-related information. Tour operators will not be in a position to satisfy the dynamic needs and wants of today's tourists, unless there is information system innovation.

The aim of this research was to compare the distribution channel relationships in two different tourism markets: the mature market of Britain and the evolving market in Poland, with a view to assessing likely courses of tourism development in Poland. Relationships in channels of distribution can be understood as all the interactions, processes and flows taking place between companies involved in exchange of products and services. The focus of the research was an investigation of channel relationships between travel agents and tour operators. The evolution of tourism channel relationships in Britain and Poland was investigated in three stages: initiation, implementation and review, following the Kale and McIntyre (1991) and Crotts et al. (1998) models. Analysis of existing literature established that historical, political and economic backgrounds, as well as demand and supply, impact in different ways upon the structure of such channels in each country. Following that recognition two phases of empirical research were conducted using a mixed methods approach. The exploratory phase was based on interviews with British and Polish travel agents and tour operators, and from this phase a set of propositions was developed regarding travel agents' and tour operators' attitudes towards channel relationships. These propositions were explored using data collected from a detailed questionnaire survey distributed to a sample of British and Polish tour operators and travel agents. The results from this quantitative research were qualitatively augmented by outcomes from indepth interviews. The key findings from the research were that the Polish distribution system resembled to some extent the old British tourism structure. It was, however, unable to directly follow the development route undertaken by British companies. The pattern of operation was different in both countries due to four factors. Firstly, the distortions in operations in Poland originated from the post-socialist business structure; secondly, the diversity of business in Poland was much greater than in Britain, whilst, thirdly, the level of vertical integration between companies and the level of the development of information technology was more extensive in Britain. Finally, although the relationship development process consisted of similar stages in both countries, the field investigations showed differences in partners' selection, monitoring and support. The Polish companies relied heavily on social bonding and social ties in the selection stage, while in Britain the transparency and higher stability in the market reduced the necessity of close social bonding between employees and companies. The overall conclusion from the research is that the Polish travel companies are likely to follow many aspects of the British route, though with some specifically Polish characteristics. The initial evaluation of channel partners and the evaluation of the relationship between agents and tour operators would be strengthened in Poland, if there were a strong, regulatory and advisory association in the Polish market such as ABTA in Britain. Further research is recommended in terms of the impact of information technology on channel relationships in tourism and the role of tourism associations in the organisation of the tourism market.

The introductory chapter of the the thesis is focused on defining the basic concepts associated with entrepreneurship in tourism. Following part analyses the German travel agency market. The third chapter is devoted to the competitive environment of the Czech market. The aim is to verify the hypothesis that in the Czech Republic there is potential for the entry of German tour operators on the Czech market. The method of study is a survey at the end of the work that refused the original sentence and proved that on the Czech market is not sufficient in case of development potential.

This paper identifies subjects which are relevant for Swedish suppliers of tourism services beforeapproaching foreign markets. Most suppliers are micro, small or medium sized companies anduse intermediaries, such as tour operators, for internationalization. The research considers theopinion of British and German tour operators, which require some criteria beforehand in orderto simplify both the initialization and the development of cooperation. Destination marketingorganizations (DMOs) are hereby the go-betweens since they not only represent small-scalesuppliers on international markets, but also initiate first encounters between suppliers and touroperators. Suppliers need to provide DMOs with accurate information in order to ensure thebest possible representation. After initializing collaboration, business relationships are sought todevelop in order to facilitate long-term cooperation. Proper preparation forms therefore the basefor strengthening the competitiveness of Swedish tourism prior approaching internationalmarkets. The enhancement of distributing Swedish tourism services on foreign markets appearedto be a profitable way to enable further growth, which is strongly limited on the domestic market.Increasing the export share therefore secures and further facilitates tourism’s valuablecontributions to the Swedish economy.

Magister Commercii - MCom / The South African government has earmarked the Travel and Tourism industry as a key sector for economic growth as it plays an important role in stimulating the South African economy. Over the last few years the industry has placed greater emphasis on tour packages being offered to tourists, with one key group, Inbound Tour Operators, emerging to fulfil this important role. However, there have been limited studies conducted in the South African context which aim to isolate generalizable key success factors (KSFs) in the Travel and Tourism sector. By focusing on two important research streams, competitive advantage and international entrepreneurship, this study identified nine main KSFs. These KSFs were developed using Thomas and Long's KSF model (Thomas and Long, 2000). The general research approach was a qualitative, multiple-case study whereby six firms were selected from the inbound tour operator sub-sector of the SA tourism industry. The research methodology used in-depth interviews which were conducted with an industry expert and owner-managers of small, mediumand large inbound tour operators, serving and operating in international markets. This helped to gain an understanding of the complex and intricate ways that these firms comprehend KSFs and build their international strategy. As a result of this research approach, it was possible to identify how these KSF variables are influenced through management's decisions and how they essentially affect the overall competitive positions of the various firms in the industry. It also led to novel findings which challenged conventional international entrepreneurship thinking, such as the Uppsala approach, on the basis that firms do not only follow sequential steps when internationalising their businesses. It was found that entrepreneurial firms internationalise their businesses from the outset and extensively leverage off of internet-based technology and utilise export-based activities to engage international markets. The implications of the findings show that existing and new tour operators entering the tourism industry have clear KSFs which they can target in order to achieve success. These factors are variables which management can influence through their decision-making and affect the overall competitive positions of their firm in the industry. Nonetheless, further studies are required to identify KSFs in the other sectors within the tourism industry to provide valuable insights regarding how the international competitiveness of the local tourism industry as a whole may be improved.

In this study, we have examined how Swedish tour operators are using social media as part of their marketing plan. Our purpose was to find out which strategies they use in the area of social marketing. The companies that were examined were Ving, Fritidsresor and Jambo tours, and the social network site that the research focused on was Facebook. The examination was conducted with a content analysis of the companies' Facebook pages and qualitative, structured interviews with the companies. The aim was to compare the various tour operators Facebook pages in order to get a broader overview of the companies marketing strategies. The results varied between the companies, but in many aspects they had similar strategies. The companies primarily use their Facebook pages to disseminate information, but also for communication with their target groups. This is also what previous research shows is an important part of the social media strategy.

Det som märks är att kriser sker hela tiden, där gäller för reseaktörerna att vara förberedda. Krishantering är någonting som de flesta reseaktörer har men när det kommer till marknadsföringen av en destination vid kris ligger de lågt. Däremot marknadsför de destinationer i olika kanaler vanligtvis. / What you can notice is that crisis occur all the time, here it is important that tour operators is prepared. Crisis management is something that most of them have however marketing a destination in crisis they do not make any fuss. By contrast they marketing destinations in different distributaries channels.