Abstract
M.Com. (Business Economics)
The luxury motor-coach industry in South Africa is presently finding
it difficult to function on a sound financial basis. International
tourists are the main supporters of the industry and this means that
financial success is dependent on the flow of these tourists. Effective
marketing, however, is lacking and little information about the
industry is available.
In view of the foregoing, the primary goal of this study is the development
of a marketing planning model for the luxury motor-coach
industry. In order to attain this goal, it was necessary to collect
and analise primary, and, where possible, secondary marketing information
about the industry.
An important step in effective marketing is the acceptance of the
marketing concept in terms of consumer orientation, integrated marketing
and profitability. The study not only indicates that this
concept is applicable to all marketing variables in the macro-marketing
environment, the market environment and the micro-marketing
environment but also measures the degree to which it is applied by the
industry. Only the critical marketing variables in each of the
aforementioned environments ~ere investigated. Since national as well
as international tourists go on luxury motor-coach tours in South
Africa, the investigation was also undertaken from that point of view.
The investigation revealed, firstly, that competition, technology, the
economy, social and cultural structures and government actions are
critical variables in the macro-marketing environment that are uncontrollable.
A proper analysis of these variables from a marketing
point of view can lead to the identification of opportunities and/or
threats to tour operators. It was also found that tour operators can,
through proactive environmental management, endeavour to create
favourable situations in the macro-marketing environment...