Analysis of consumer trends and marketing approaches for ecotourism
One of the tasks in SHAPE consisted in evaluating potential consumer markets (national and international) to which ecotourism products can be promoted, to enable local and regional businesses to capitalise, for example through developing marketing clusters or the use of effective and inspirational promotional media.
Led by the UHI team at the Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research, SHAPE produced a report on transnational marketing rends, a report on social media for the promotion of ecotourism activities, and a case study on social media developed in Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere.
Drawing primarily from secondary data sources, the aim of these data gathering exercises was to develop a better understanding of which consumers to target, to discuss what consumers seek from their ecotourism experiences, and how to effectively market to them.