GUIDELINES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROMOTION OF TOURISM PRODUCT BUYING BEHAVIOR AND MARKETING MIX FACTORS THROUGH ONLINE MEDIA OF GENERATION X AND GENERATION Y TOURISTS.

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to 1) investigate the marketing mixed factors of Thailand’s tourism products through online media used by tourism business operators.  2) Investigate the factors affecting the decision to purchase Thai tourism products through online mediaม and 3) propose guidelines for developing and promoting Thai tourism products through the online media of the generation X and Y tourists. The research design was a mixed methods approach using in-depth interviews with tourism entrepreneurs and questionnaires to collect data from a sample group of 384 Thai and foreign tourists.  The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The results of the research revealed that Generation X and Y travelers bought air tickets through online media the most, followed by hotels and accommodation.  Most of them directly bought tourism products through the website of the travel service providers because of its convenience.  In addition, the marketing mixed factors influenced on purchasing decision (9P's) through online media was at the highest level, in terms of distribution channels, followed by process, product organization, marketing promotion, perception, partners/alliance, staff, and prices  respectively.  Finally, the research proposed that entrepreneurs should promote distribution channels to be more efficient because it is a factor affecting the decision to buy tourism products online. Moreover, tourism products and employees should be developed to meet standards superior to competitors to be able to set a selling price to be more competitive and attractive to tourists.