You have just been appointed the new marketing manager for BonVoyage, a large travel group. Bon Voyage offers a range of holidaypackages aimed at several parts of the market including packagetour operations, a nationwide chain of travel shops and a fleet ofaircraft.
One of the fastest growing segments of the travel market inrecent years has been the cruise market. Once the domain of theprivileged few, cruises are now available to a much wider targetmarket as costs have come down and incomes have risen. Until now,Bon Voyage has not been a player in the cruise marketplace. It nowrealizes it may have been mistaken in this respect and wishes toenter the market as soon as possible. The company has negotiatedthe provision of two cruise ships which will, next season, sailround the Mediterranean and the Caribbean respectively. The shipshave just been refurbished and offer the most up-to-datefacilities.
Other companies in this market have been predominantly targetingmiddle-income groups. However, there remains a part of the marketwhich is aimed primarily at the luxury end, with high prices andprestigious ships.
- What are the competitors doing to acquire customers?
- What are the segments and customers locking for?
- How much customer trying to pay?
- Do secondary research?
- What market looks like?
How to segment this market?
Which target segment might be best appropriate and why?Discuss.
How its product offerings in this area might be positioned so asto differentiate if from existing competitors.
