A tourism marketing plan for Kuwait and other GCC countries

Abstract

Tourism is an increasingly important area of services trade. Every foreign visitor who spends money at a tourist resort contributes to an improvement in the balance of payments of the country to which this resort/destination belongs. With the value of the oil industry fluctuating, and given the vast natural resources and beauty offered by the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, tourism services may well become a key GCC export factor. Within a few years, the GCC countries developed tourism festivals, which received a warm welcome by nationals but had little exposure to Western visitors. However, the literature on marketing and image of tourism in this part of the world is still in an infant stage. This research study presents a tourism-marketing plan that could be used by the GCC tourism bureaus in dealing with potential foreign consumers. The research also presents a model of perceived service quality and applies it to the Kuwaiti and other GCC countries' hotels seeking to accommodate foreign tourists. Finally, the researcher offers some recommendations pertaining to the marketing mix of the GCC tourism industry aimed at attracting the maximum number of foreign visitors, particularly during the festivals.