BUSN20016 Research In Business 23

Please provide an outline of a research project:

Title of the project:  A brief statement of the problem that you would like to investigate; and research aim and objectives that can solve the problem you have identified.

A brief methodology: Provide details about what type of methodology you will choose such as quantitative or qualitative or mixed methodology, also identify the methods and tools that you will use to analyse the collected data.

You are also required to demonstrate knowledge of research methods applicable to a real-life business research. We expect you to read and reflect on at least ten recent refereed journal articles on your topic supported by any other evidence or information that can help identify the problem of your research and the methods of data collection and analysis.

Problem Statement

Number of radical, significant and unexpected events have been seen in many industries in 21^st century which have even impacted tourist activities in major countries like Australia (Beesley, Lisa, Davidson, & Michael, 2013). Global climate and diversified people culture need tourism companies embrace disciplined and continuous reformation to monitor future trends and problems to make uniform policies and strategic decisions ( Mhizha, Nyaruwata, Munyanyiwa, & Mandebvu, 2015). Tourism sector have often been criticised by researchers due to lack of strategic management especially in its marketing and policy planning. Indeed, many hospitality industry focusses more upon current market trends while losing future prediction abilities. Given this background, the issue identified in current and future course of tourism sector in Australia needs to be analysed to come up with strategic marketing plan (Ruhanen, Lisa, McLennan,, & Char-lee, 2009).

Last decade has realized significant increase in use of social media networking and with general development of technology, companies have also started reaping out of it. Tourism sector has also seen impressive development in beginning years, but due to economic and environmental issues, it faced constant downfall (Chaffey, 2009). Today, tourism industry is on rise once again as people have changed dramatically with appealing advent of social media sites (Kirá?ová & Pavlí?eka , 2015). This creates opportunity for tourism sector in Australia to retain lost customers through facilitated and empowered communication engagement through social media marketing. However, essential issues regarding service providers also needs to be encountered so that any false assumptions made shall be avoided to make system more effective ( Tseng & Chen, 2014). Therefore, identifying challenges and opportunities behind implementing social media marketing in tourism sector becomes important to determine what profits it can bring to the industry and how it can help in increasing sales.

Aims And Objectives

The key purpose behind preparing this research proposal is to find out issues in tourism sector of Australia while identifying alternative approach to it. As mentioned by Wang (2015), hotels have suspected the effects of social media and SEO on hotel performance and its sales. Therefore, this measures the vital opportunity in tourism sector also. The objectives behind preparing this research are:

• Identification of issues in tourism sector and reasons behind decrease in sales
• Finding key trends and distribution network in tourism industry and how they can be evolved
• Review of social media marketing trend in hospitality sector and how successful companies utilises it.
• Develop strategies that can be implemented by tourism companies for attracting more customers to boost sales.

A Brief Methodology

This research is based on analysis made and problems identified in planning and marketing policy of tourism sector in Australia. Therefore, national and state level research will be made with the help of government reports and reviews. This research will also use mixed methodology to find appropriate solution to the identified problem.

• Literature review: To evaluate current trends and problems in tourism industry in Australia and benefits social media marketing can provide in enhancing sales, sources like government websites, academic journals, books and other credible sources will be used.
• Data collection: Data related to tourism industry along with social media marketing trends will be collected from secondary sources.
• Interviews: This research will conduct interviews with stakeholders of tourism companies and also with customers who uses social media sites for tourism purpose. These interviews will help in finding alternative solution to the issue while knowing which sites are used most commonly so that it can be used by tourism companies(Marvel, 2016).

Secondary Data And Data Analysis Methods

This study requires making research of both secondary as well as primary data related to tourism sector of Australia that are available online. These data can further be analysed by preparing graphical representation and charts to present the information in statistical manner and in precise way. Other secondary data like workplace flexibility, change in customer behaviours, emerging trend and market conditions will be collected from websites and annual reports of tourism companies. Since this research proposes to implement social media marketing, consumers perception towards this concept will also be studied through online discussions and market survey.

References

Beesley, Lisa, Davidson, & Michael. (2013). A Critical Analysis of Skilled Labor Supply and Demand in the Australian Hospitality Industry. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 1-36.

Chaffey, D. (2009). E-Business and E-Commerce Management (04 ed.). Harlow: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.

Kirá?ová, A., & Pavlí?eka , A. (2015). Development of Social Media Strategies in Tourism Destination. International Conference on Strategic Innovative Marketing, 358-366.

Marvel, M. (2016). The Hotel Distribution Report. UK: HotelAnalyst.

Mhizha, A., Nyaruwata, S., Munyanyiwa, T., & Mandebvu, G. (2015). The adoption of social media platforms in tourism and hospitality marketing: The case of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Harare. International Journal of Development and Sustainability, 04(06), 635-649.

Ruhanen, Lisa, McLennan,, & Char-lee. (2009). Strategic Issues in the Australian Tourism Industry: An Analysis of National Tourism Strategies and Plans. Tourism & Hospitality in a Dynamic World.

Tseng, C. Y., & Chen, C. L. (2014). Employability and Employment in the Hotel Industry: A Review of the Literature. Business and Economics Journal.

Wang, W. (2015). A Content Analysis of Hospitality Reports from the Center of Hospitality Research in Cornell University: 2001-2014. Open Journal of Applied Sciences, 618-633.