DETAILED COURSE OUTLINE

MK 509 E
LEISURE AND TOURISM MARKETING & MANAGEMENT
R.COD.MODULE.01B

DEPARTMENT : STRATEGY AND MARKETING

PROGRAMME : MSc. Sports, Leisure and Tourism Marketing (SLT)

INSTRUCTOR : Sheila MATSON

FORMAT : 30 hours

CREDITS : 6 ECTS credits

PRE-REQUISITE COURSE : None

LEARNING OBJECTIVES :

This course introduces principles of marketing and management in the leisure and tourism sectors.
Marketing frameworks and tools will be introduced and assessed so that students can use them in a
tourism and leisure context.

After completing this course, students should have a good understanding of the role of marketing
within the context of managing leisure and tourism facilities, and should be able to apply theory to
practice within this context.

LEARNING OUTCOMES :

At the successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

Knowledge-based outcomes
1. Appreciate the scope and limitations of the marketing function within leisure and tourism
organisations.
2. Understand the differences between marketing physical products and leisure and tourism services.
3. Insights into some of the key management issues in the leisure and tourism sectors

Skill-based outcomes
4. Explain the importance of a customer orientation.
5. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of an organisation’s marketing strategy.
6. Apply different models of marketing management to various marketing-related problems in the
leisure and tourism sectors.

COURSE DESCRIPTION :

This course addresses key management issues and advanced principles of marketing in the leisure
and tourism sectors. In order to achieve the learning objectives, the course will focus on the
following specific subjects:

 The macro and micro environment of leisure and tourism marketing;

 Introductory and advanced techniques for analysing marketing strategies;
 The unique characteristics of leisure and tourism services and their implications for
management and marketing;
 The importance of understanding the value of maintaining long term customer relationships;
 Demand and supply management in capacity constrained leisure and tourism services;
 The links between marketing, operations and human resource management
in leisure and tourism organisations; and
 Global perspectives on leisure and tourism marketing.
ESC Rennes School of Business – 1st Semester 2009/2010
Date de Mise à jour : Septembre 2009 MK 509 E 1/4
LINK WITH AND CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAMME:

This module is designed to provide an overview of management issues and the marketing tools and techniques
applicable to the leisure and tourism sectors. It assumes that students have previously covered a basic
marketing course or will address any knowledge deficiencies through private study. This course takes a
theoretical and practical perspective and sets the foundations for subsequent but related courses, by integrating
issues of marketing, human resource management and operations management.

LINKS WITH COMPANIES :

Company examples will be given during the course together with a heavy emphasis on real
company projects and case studies.

TEACHING METHODS :

Lectures/seminars
In class exercises
Company Projects
Case studies

METHODS OF ASSESSMENT :

Examination : 60 %
Coursework group presentation in class : 20 %
Written report : 20 %

The coursework will comprise a group exercise to analyse a marketing issue related to a local
leisure or tourism organisation.

Based on this, each group member will be required to write an individual critical report,
developing further the theme of the group assignment.

Case studies will be presented during the course with questions for critical discussion.
Discussion of these questions will provide experience for tackling the examination questions.

The final examination will assess the student's overall level of knowledge in the subject area, as
well as their ability to analyse and provide recommendations in a realistic marketing situation. The
examination will be closed book.

BIBLIOGRAPHY :

The recommended test is:

Palmer, A. – Principles of Services Marketing – 5th Edition – McGraw-Hill Book Company, 2007

Students will be directed to relevant chapters in this book and the further reading and internet
resources listed at the end of the respective chapter.

Alternative texts:
1/ Holloway, C. Marketing for Tourism, 4th edition, FT Prentice Hall, 2004.

2/ Horner, S.J., and Swarbrooke, J., Leisure Marketing: A Global Perspective , Elsevier, 2004

3/ Kotler, P., Bowen, T., Makens, J. Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism, Prentice Hall, 2006

In addition, students will be directed to articles published in relevant services related journals,
including
Journal of Vacation Marketing
Tourism Management
European Journal of Marketing
Journal of Services Marketing
Journal of Service Research
ESC Rennes School of Business – 1st Semester 2009/2010
Date de Mise à jour : Septembre 2009 MK 509 E 2/4
 COURSE OUTLINE
MK 509 E

SESSIONS TO DO FOR
TOPICS
NEXT WEEK
The management and marketing challenges of leisure and tourism organisations
Marketing as a business philosophy and practice: frameworks and tools
Prepare 1 group
The macro- and micro-environments of leisure and tourism
1 article
Ethical and ecological challenges facing leisure and tourism marketing
presentation
Project requirements and groups
Group summary and presentation of an article (one per group)
The service experience in Leisure and Tourism
The unique characteristics of a service.
The experience offer.
Prepare 2 group
2 Defining benefits to customers
article
Leisure as a consumption experience
presentations
Frameworks for understanding the customer experience .
Critical incidents, service failure and recovery
Presentation of article.
Consumer Behaviour and Research.
Buyers, competitors and markets
Prepare 1 group
3 Buying processes for leisure and tourism services
article
Segmentation.
presentation
Researching customers’ needs
Presentations of articles.
Special issues in pricing and promoting leisure services
Pricing strategies and techniques relevant to leisure and tourism
Promotional strategies and techniques relevant to leisure and tourism
4
Consequences of intangibility and inseparability on pricing and promotion
Ethical issues specific to leisure and tourism pricing and promotion
Group presentation on promotion of a leisure service of your choice.
Managing demand and capacity for services
Strategies and tactics to reconcile uneven patterns of demand with fixed capacity
5 Methods used to manage the pattern of demand for leisure and tourism services
Capacity management techniques
Yield management game
Networks and relationships
Read Case study:
Customer relationships and loyalty. Destination
Service co-production through networks and alliances of leisure related organisations Marketing:
Public-private sector co-operative marketing, including destination marketing Tourism
6 Methods used to develop membership type relationships Australia’s
Group presentation (4) on relationships and networking for tourism company Controversial
of your choice Campaign.
Group presentation (5) on relationships and networking for leisure company of
your choice
Branding tourism destinations: why and how? Prepare 1 group
7 Case study : article
Student Presentation (6) on destination of your choice. presentation
Employee performance and service quality
Role of employee motivation in improving service quality in labour intensive leisure
and tourism sectors
Prepare 1 group
HR issues: Empowerment v control approaches
8 article
Conceptual frameworks for measuring quality in a leisure and tourism context
presentation
Implementing quality improvements
Student presentation (7) on employee performance and service quality.

ESC Rennes School of Business – 1st Semester 2009/2010

Date de Mise à jour : Septembre 2009 MK 509 E 3/4
 Making leisure and tourism services available to customers
Macro and Micro-location decisions
Accessibility through intermediaries
Prepare 1 group
The internet as a distribution channel
9 article
Time availability of leisure services
presentation
The role of employees
Group Presentation on Distribution in a tourism or leisure company of your
choice
Globalisation of the leisure and tourism sector
The role of global marketing for leisure and tourism
10 Understanding different cultural preferences
“Exporting” by attracting inward tourism
Taking branded leisure services to overseas customers
Preparing for the exam.

ESC Rennes School of Business – 1st Semester 2009/2010

Date de Mise à jour : Septembre 2009 MK 509 E 4/4