Strategic marketing as a managerial approach for enhancing the competitiveness of the tourism business sector in Egypt

Abstract

This research endeavours to explore the attitudes of tourism business managers in Egypt towards the importance of strategic tourism marketing and to explain how they understand and implement it. To achieve the research objectives, data were collected through 132 questionnaires distributed among tourism marketing managers, which represent a sample size of about 7.8% of the total population. Results proved that the tourism business sector managers have positive attitudes towards the importance of strategic tourism marketing as a way to improve their companies' operating efficiency. However, there is still a degree of misunderstanding on the concept of strategic tourism marketing and most Egyptian tourism business sector companies/travel agents are dealing with it as a tool or a policy to implement tourism marketing functional objectives. In addition, tourism business sector companies/travel agencies in Egypt do not practise the procedures (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis) of strategic marketing.