МАРКЕТИНГОВА ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ НІШОВИХ ТУРОПЕРАТОРІВ В УМОВАХ КРИЗОВОГО СТАНУ ТУРИСТИЧНОГО РИНКУ

Abstract

The war in Ukraine, the closure of airspace and drastic changes in demand affected the marketing, advertising, eventing and logistics of tour operators. In this regard, the segment of bus tours, which allow tour operators to avoid logistical problems, is actively developing. Entry into the niche of bus tours by new competitors presupposes the active use of marketing tools by all market participants. Marketing in the segment of bus tours is changing radically under the influence of the recent pandemic and quarantine restrictions, the war in Ukraine, the economic crisis, the active implementation of information technologies and digitalization, the emergence of new generations of consumers, environmental activities and other factors. Theoretical aspects of bus tourism marketing are developed and practices of using marketing tools by tourist operators of the bus tour segment in the crisis state of the domestic tourist market are generalized in this article. The essence, goals and objectives of marketing activity in the field of organized bus tourism are considered. The concept, specifics and types of bus tourism are described. It is proposed to understand bus tours as trips of organized groups of tourists on their own or rented buses of tourist operators along a certain route and a formed excursion program. Factors affecting the development of bus tourism and tourist demand for bus tours are noted. The marketing practice of domestic tourist operators in the «bus tours» segment is summarized and it is concluded that they understand the threats and modern challenges, therefore they actively use marketing tools to successfully compete and maintain their market share. The considered practices of marketing activity form cases for players of the tourism market to adapt their offer to modern realities related to the crisis state of the domestic tourism market caused by the war, a decrease in demand, population migration, the change of generations of consumers and demonstrate experience in using new communication channels, tools of sustainable tourism, etc.