Question One

Analyse the website of your chosen tourism operator. Discuss what they are currently doing
well or perhaps not so well, in terms of the following;

a) Overall look and feel

Fullers website does give you that look and feel touch from the blue coloured water they use
throughout the page. The colour blue is often used to represent the blue waters of the Bay of
Islands portraying the company as a boat tour agency. This gives you a feeling of wanting to
escape and have a break from reality. The website is neat and well organised easy for
consumers to choose and observe their options. From my point of view the site is easily
obtained and is easy to read provided with a lot of images of the Bay of Island area.
b) Ease of navigation
Fullers website is easy accessible providing different options available at the top such as
destinations, tours, travel information, accommodation and contact. Situated under each
option listed to choose from making it easier for the consumer to find what they are looking
for. Plenty of information is provided on the website from what they offer, history and
experiences. This helps the consumer observe more in the options provided and having the
ability to book their availability wanted.
c) Accessibility of information
The website offers a wide range of options and accessible links with a decent amount of
information. It is easily accessible for consumers to find their way around the site with the
information they need about cruises, tours, visitors information, transportation and more. The
website offers a fat footer with the contact details of Fullers Great Sight for any inquiries and
the social media links attached at the bottom. This helps the consumer directing them
straight to the website with more information.
d) Depth of the website - i.e. do you want to experience what they have to offer?
Fullers Greatsight was designed to attract consumers through their website, social media
and any online platform. Having an online platform allows them to promote what they have in
store and what they can provide mostly focusing on cruises and tours in the Bay of Plenty
area. From my point of view their website provides a decent amount of information which
has been well presented. Due to this consumers will then get that touch of wanting to take
the experience on board with a great experience.

Question Two
A) Analyse the interaction and participation encouraged by the operator through the
website in terms of the online booking system.

The interaction between Fullers Great Sight and the customers is to go through the website
in terms of the online booking system. Fullers offer many options and information provided
on the website about the tour, cruises and itinerary the customer is interested in. The online
booking system has a brief outline on the itinerary the customer is interested in from the
prices, amount of people accommodation and everything else you need. Online they include
highlights within the tours so that customers know what they are going to experience, also
attractions and activities you will experience on your tour. In the right side of the online
booking you would have your combo where you have the options of adults, children, infants
you would like giving the price of each option you decide from. Customers have the ability to
find suitable date which give you your departure and return information down below. There is
an option where you can enhance your tour that includes extra curricular activities the
customer would be interested in, added meal options and an option for complimentary hotel
pickup or drop off to the location wanted. The additional options may cost extra depending
on the customers needs which then can be the interaction between Fuller's company and the
customers itinerary.

One improvement I noticed about the online booking would be the options of the ages of
adults, children and infants. This could make a difference for the customer as they would
know what activities they could participate in especially this is a family trip. After finalising the
itinerary you’re then directed into a new page where the total cost is shown with your
itinerary and what is included. This could be a disadvantage due to the customer wanting to
know the total cost due to their limited budget and if it was over the customer's budget they
would need to go back to the previous page and change their options to fit their budget.

Question Two

B) discuss the advantages and disadvantages for the tourism operator and /or the clients, in
terms of having an online booking system on a website.

Advantage 1:
Online booking systems are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week whereas with a travel
agent they are only limited to a certain business hours of work for you to physically book
your interests. If you happen to miss their visiting hours you would need to wait for the next
day to book a tee time. The Fullers Great Sight website is easily accessible for customers to
make their reservations without employees having to be there. This allows customers to be
able to choose what tour they are interested in at anytime.

Advantage 2:
Customers who book their own reservations online are more likely to show up, this reduces
the results in significantly fewer no-show appointment times. For online booking the
customer does not need to cancel as their spot automatically becomes available again or
someone else can book it. Great Fullers Sight has great exposure to online booking systems
where customers from all around the world can pre book their reservations within the Bay Of
Islands. This increases the number of target markets as to the exposure of online booking
has helped with being more organised and prepared for their reservation.

Disadvantage 1:
You need reliable internet access to keep updated with your reservations and added
bookings that are made over the phone. This could be a barrier for those who do not have
internet access to keep updated on their itinerary as they could miss out important
information such as new deals, tours and adventure etc.
Disadvantage 2:
Booking online could be a barrier for someone wanting to ask a live person questions about
hotel rooms, flight routes, visa requirements or anything else that it is you’re unsure of.
Special requests may not be able to confirm at the time of the online reservation.

Question Three
Considering your analysis of the operator’s website, make at least TWO recommendations
of what could be done better, or perhaps added to the website to make it more appealing
and user-friendly for clients.

I feel like what they could have done better was address the fact that there is a only or
language options for the tour and website. By providing more language options for those
people who do not understand English and if they were to have language devices at the
attraction how much the cost would be as they might have a budget that would just fit right
with the itinerary. I recommend this as you could have people booking online and coming
into the attraction not knowing how to go about their itinerary and by this if more language
services are provided customers get a better understanding of what is going on. This could
be a barrier for them if customers do not get the language service they need therefore
making them think they cannot come into the attractions because no one is able to translate.

Another consequence I would recommend is adding a search engine. This could help
customers who are wanting to find a certain tour and the pricings. This then saves time
instead of having to look through the website for the tours wanted. They would also add
more tour experience videos so that people could have a look and feel of it which can help
consumers with their decisions on making a booking.

Question Four
A) Identify TWO types of social media which your chosen tourism operator is currently
using to support the business
● Facebook
● Instagram

B) circle one of social media identified in Question 4a, and analyse how the tourism
operator is currently using it in terms of supporting communication and marketing of the
tourism operator.

Supporting communication
A major purpose of social media would be to support business communications. In terms of
supporting communication, Fullers Great sight uses Facebook as a tool to communicate with
a large number of people and have an online conversation with others the business. The
page provides a calling option alongside with a private message for customers who find it
easier to call instead of going into the store. An email address is also provided for any
customer inquiries and reviews of the tour. Fuller Great Sight communicate with customers
through post comments therefore creating a trustworthy website from the customers view.

Support market:
The purpose of social media is ideally to support the marketing business. Fullers uses
Facebook to promote their new products, deals and competitions etc to a wider community.
Facebook is used by Fullers to reach their targets through supporting markets which can
lead to open doors of new businesses through more leads and lowers the marketing
expenses. Fullers Great Sight marketing is used through the pictures and posts with
#GreatsightsNZ as the caption so that customers may see and explore the capture is
moments spent in the Bay of Islands. Tours are promoted through the videos uploaded
where customers are able to share and view these deals to family and friends. Fullers Great
Sight have a Qualmark in their Facebook page which can help them be identified by 100%
Pure NZ experience awards. Fullers interact with their customers through using
questionnaires about their favourite tour in the Bay of Islands also use their link so that
customers may find it easier to go on the website and view the different options.

Question Five
Identify and evaluate the impact social media has had on the tourism operator in terms of the
benefits and consequences.

Identify one impact: Facebook reaches a huge audience

Outline at least two benefits and two consequences of this impact.

Benefits 1:
Fullers Great Sight has an impact on social media including Facebook in terms of marketing
their campaign. The benefit of Fuller's Great Sight online is that you are able to reach your
target market and potential other market through daily posts and updated sales about the
tours available now. This could increase the exposure of Fullers to a wider market where live
posts are exposed to the public, such as family and friends. This could be a positive impact
due to the support system they have therefore they would share and spread the word
targeting a wider market and people.

Benefit 2#
Another benefit to Fullers Great Sight utilising Facebook this way would be that it is time
efficient. This would be an instant utensil where customers could communicate with the
business at any time without having to worry about time. This is also a benefit as you do not
need a live person having to go through a lot of people to get the product you’re looking for.

Consequence #3
One of the consequences Fullers could face would be the negative comments and reviews
views online. Customers tend to read the negative comments first before the positives
therefore this could be a step back for them as they might start to become indecisive about
the company and what they have to offer. This could cause a bit of tension and conflict
between the customer and company. Due to this negativity the company may lose
customers therefore they would lose money and not be able to make any profit for the
business meaning they could lose the business.

Consequence #4
The exposure of Fullers Great Sight marketing is for the public to view and experience the
different options they have to offer. This is an advantage for the company to grow within their
market but would also be a disadvantage due to scammers and online hackers.
Question Six
Identify one possible future trend for either technology OR social media, and briefly
discuss TWO likely/possible implications of the trend for the tourism operator in relation to
marketing their attraction.

Virtual is a simulated experience that is similarly or completely different from the real world
which is applicant to virtual reality including entertainment and educational purposes,
augmented reality and mixed reality. The virtual reality marketing is trending in this
generation bring the unreal into a realistic experience. For instance Fullers Great Sights
would improve their customer experiences with allowing virtual reality to visualise their
products before buying them. This would be a new way to interact more with customers.

An implication that could occur impacting the marketing process or virtual reality would be
the expenses of investing in the VR product. Fullers Great Sight could go ahead with the
virtual reality plan however if they cannot afford it, their time and money would be a waste of
time as they could not make any profit due to no buyers. This would be the companies loss
as they would then have to rebuild once again to provide facilities to their customers.

Another implication for virtual reality would be that this product would not suit everyone.
People may have issues with their eyesight therefore would not be able to adapt to the VR.
With Fullers, customers may not be interested in VE meaning it would be a waste of money
and time as it is not targeted towards Fullers target market.

Question 7
Identify the current impact or challenges that social media or technology is having on
the tourism operator in relation to marketing their attraction.

Fullers Great Sight may face some challenges and effects negatively and positively on social
media when marketing their series of actions to reach a goal. One good effect they could
face would be communication through social media including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
Fuller Great Sight website, TripAdvisor and more. With this being a good effect on Fullers,
customers have a wide range of social media tools to have access from all around the world
with information needed already given. Fullers will advertise their offers and activities which
creates a better interaction and engagement within the company and customers on what
they are looking for providing good services for the business. Another positive impact with
having these social media tools, especially Facebook is that you are notified when deals,
products and packages are available therefore potential visitors may view and share to a
wider audience selling the product to people who have not yet experienced this adventure.
Another effect would be regular updates on their social media about any weather conditions
which means visitors may not be able to go through the whole in the rock cruise or not
seeing any dolphins or whales, Fullers would be able to refund for any unhappy customers
or giving customers a ticket for them to come back another day. This will then show
customers how reliable the company is and the company showing them they want the best
for their customers experience. A challenge that Fullers may face is trying to get visitors to
visit the region in northland as not much people know the area and what they can
experience. It is found that generally 70% visit South Island even from the area of Northland
which becomes a barrier for the region, their attraction and social media. To change this
negative impact the company could work with other operators and providers to increase the
level of participants within the region and worldwide including inclusions such as
accommodation and transportation to get customers to come and experience a great cruise.
With having marketing campaigns online, a negative impact could be the negative comments
which could spread within the company and on social media. This could affect the company
on what they do and how they do it therefore customers could have second thoughts on
taking the experience. They could eliminate negative feedback on social media by allowing
customers to give their review, but a staff will need to read it before allowing it to be
accepted onto the page.