Culture and Attractions
San Diego is a city on the Pacific coast of California which is most popular for its parks, beaches and warm climate. It is considered as the 8th largest place in Unite States and 2nd largest in California. It has the citywide population of approximately 1.3 million people (Landvoigt, Piazzesi, & Schneider, 2015). The city is situated in Southern California, around 190 km south of Los Angeles and nearby to the Mexico’s border. San Diego is the tenth most tourism attracting place all over the world. It has 18 combined cities and other charming neighborhoods and societies.
The culture of San Diego is affected heavily by Mexican and America culture because of its placement as border town, its Hispanic population and its history as part of Mexico and Spanish America. The socio-culture factors of San Diego include several tourist and historical attractions, a booming theatrical and musical scene, special cultural events and varied cuisine. In the city, there are Spanish and Mexican heritage that reflects the historic sites in the city. It has positive impact on the Tourist Generating Region (TGR) and Tourist Destination Region (TDR) as the number of tourist arrival is increasing due to its attractions (Alonso, & Ogle, 2010).
The economic system of San Diego is well-developed and it gains its strengths from its tourism and service industry. The economy of this city slowed from 3% growth in the year 2013 to only 0.4% by 2015 and 0.3% in the year 2016. The unemployment rate in the city is approximately 5% with the job growth of 2.22% (Sandiego.org., 2018). Tourism plays an important role in the economic growth of this city. About 32 million visitors are visiting the place every year and they spent 8$ billion in the city. From its total population, 160,000 people are working in tourism system of San Diego (Ardahaey, 2011).
Physical environment of a city includes all the factors of nature like air, water, food, trees, lakes, vegetation and ocean. The people in San Diego enjoy good health and expect to live full life. The coastal environment of San Diego is very unique and attractive landscape of physical structures including beaches, parks and zoo. This is the major reason behind the tourist arrival to San Diego. It has positive impact on TDR as people stay here to visit its physical attractions.
San Diego has a democratic set up and effective laws with the elections which are considered transparent and fair (George, Mair & Reid, 2009). The country has political stability that is good for the tourism system. In the environment free of chaos, the tourism is flourishing in San Diego city. Local government and tourism agencies are working together to enhance the image of destination as TGR and TDR.
- Situated on the coast of Pacific Ocean in California, San Diego is the popular as the finest city of America.
- The city is very famous for its miles of white-sand beaches and wonderful weather and it provides an abundance of fun attractions for the travellers of all ages.
- San Diego County is made up of 18 towns and cities along with other fascinating communities and neighbourhoods (Agarwal, Grassl & Pahl, 2012).
- It is well-known for its climate that is considered as warm, mild winters and dry summers with most of yearly participation falling between December and March.
- The rent of accommodation property is comparatively higher in San Diego. It is a desirable place for the visitors and realtors. So, Landlords an hotels have increased the cost of renting a place.
- One of the major weaknesses of San Diego is its public transportation and infrastructure. The people have to drive their own cars as public transportation is not very reliable. It is the home to the worst roads to drive on.
- Due to increased and significant tourist arrival, San Diego has experienced traffic and overcrowding.
- San Diego is a fast growing county in United States so it has several opportunities which will enhance the economy and infrastructure of the city.
- It can make the place cheaper for foreign travellers by making changes in currency exchange rates.
- The government can focus on its infrastructure and transportation to attract more tourists to San Diego.
- San Diego is the favourite vacation destination for the travellers. Tourist agencies can develop their services and provide information and resources on tours, hotels, attractions, lift transportation so that they can enjoy their trip to the fullest (Sandiego.org., 2018).
- There are various external factors like environmental, physical and economic factors which may have adverse impact on this destination.
- San Diego is one of the most expensive cities to live in United States of America.
- The city has been ranked as the worst city in the United States for creating wealth. The reason behind this is that wages are very low in the city and cost of living is high.
- The environmental crisis has affected the tourist decision making to travel to San Diego.
Economy and Tourism
San Diego is identified as the 10th most tourist attracted place all over the world (Woodside and Martin 2008). To become one of the top destinations in the world, here are some major components of San Diego’s attraction:
Tourist Attraction and Sites
- Balboa Park
- San Diego Zoo and Safari Park
- USS Midway Museum
- La Jolla Cove
- Cabrillo National Monument
- Gaslamp Quarter
Education
- University of California
- University of San Diego
- San Diego State University
- San Diego Mesa College
- Ashford University
Transport
- Airport
- Train
- Busses
Hotels and Accommodations
- Hotels
- Guest Houses
- Resorts
- Apartments
Beaches
- Coronado Beach
- Mission Beach and Pacific Beach
- Sunset Cliffs
Events
- CityBeat Festival of Beers
- La Jolla Half Marathon
- Comic-con International
- Seaworld’s Seven Seas Food Festival
- Kaaboo Del Mar Festival
San Diego is one of the most vibrant and connected cities in the world. With the forecasted population of 1,406,630 as of 1 July 2016, San Diego is the 8th largest city in the United States and second largest in California. It has been known as the “birth of California”. As a leading global city, San Diego is one of the destinations of the first choice for the students, tourists, business professionals and international companies. In the year 2017, total 34.9 million travellers visited and the figures are increasing with year over year (San Francisco Travel, 2017). Moreover, the visitor spending throughout San Diego also arrived all time high i.e. $ 10.4$ billion (Sandiego.org., 2018). The above mentioned attractions are the major reason behind the tourist arrival to San Diego. However, the number of international students is less in the city but this figure is increasing year over year. The University of San Diego is considered to have one of the best schools in the world. Most of the international students are arriving from China, India and South Korea. The above components are the major reason behind the popularity of San Diego.
America’s Finest City Now!
San Diego is one of the top leading tourist destinations in United States. The tourism industry in California is growing with a significant rate (Upton, Teal, & Felan, 2010). There are some promotional factors which are the major reason behind this growth:
- Food and Brewery Tourism
- San Diego Weekend Couples Retreat Giveaway
- Kids programs
The objective of marketing strategy is to enhance the international image of San Diego as the most appropriate place to visit and stay and to utilize effective promotional tools with stakeholders like travel agencies, airports, fun attractions to enhance the travellers’ experiences. The major focus of this promotion material is on promotion in China, India and South Korea.
Los Angeles |
Las Vegas |
San Francisco |
· Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the United States with 3,976,322 (Tore, 2018). · It is financial, commercial and cultural centre of Southern California. · Mediterranean climate · Transportation: Seaports, Airports and Transit System · 48.3 million Tourist arrival in 2017 (Tore, 2018). |
· Las Vegas is resort city that is renowned for its nightlife, 24*7 casinos and other entertainment options. · 28th most populous city in USA · Subtropical hot desert climate · 39.01 million Tourist arrival in 2017 (The Statistics Portal, 2018). |
· San Francisco is the California Pacific coast port city that is recognized as 4th largest population city in California. · It is the largest financial centre in Western US. · Home to several cultures. · Subtropical Mediterranean climate. · 25.2 million Tourist arrival in 2016 (Weisberg, 2017). |
The major targeted audiences of San Diego are students and the people who are travelling to the city for leisure and visiting purpose. In 2017, total 34.9 million people arrived that indicates that people are arriving to San Diego to enjoy its holiday destinations and attractions (San Francisco Travel, 2017). Most of the visitors are from Canada, India, Mexico, China and South Korea. This is the biggest segment through which San Diego generates revenues as a tourist destination. Apart from this, students are the key customers as this city is attractive to foreign students as it contains various universities and better education (San Diego Education, 2018). In this way, it is justified to target these customers for San Diego.
Physical Environment
San Diego can emphasize on the students and holiday travellers by considering their below given characteristics:
Characteristics
Target Customers |
|
Demographic |
· Age: Students · Age: 25 years to 55 years old people · Higher Level income group |
Behavioural |
· Leisure travellers · Business travellers · To explore the city with their friends and families |
Psychographic |
· Medium and upper classes · Better life style · Experience seekers |
Market objectives of San Diego are:
- To promote the travel brand of San Diego and market the destinations to travellers all over the world.
- To enhance the domestic economy by promoting San Diego and its attractions.
- To develop tour programs and enhance the sales through tourism programs.
- To focus on the quality issues so that they may have positive impact on travellers.
Specific
The marketing objective of San Diego is really specific because it provides the city more international recognition and visitors. By enhancing its own economy, it can attract more international visitors (Sandiego.org., 2018).
Measurable
The objectives can be measured by considering the increased number of tourist arrival to San Diego. In this, city will focus on the number of travellers who are arriving for education and leisure purposes. It will consider data and figures of tourist agencies in San Diego.
Achievable
For a top destination, there is nothing that cannot be attained (Mariani, Di Felice, and Mura, 2016). Through the marketing and promotional campaigns, the city will be able to attain the objectives.
Realistic
The above mentioned objectives are realistic and they can be attained by developing an effective marketing plan and promotional campaign in San Diego.
Timely
To achieve these marketing objectives, a time frame will be created which will include all the marketing processes and activities with their specified timeframe.
New branding of San Diego will present the attractive, bright and energetic images to the markets. It will use the branding that will attract the youth and leisure travellers towards the destination. This new branding will make every effort to show the San Diego the best option for holiday and education with various cities and better environment (Mariani, Di Felice, and Mura, 2016). It will include the pictures of famous destinations in the city and their discounted offers.
Where |
When |
How |
California |
1/5/2018 to 1/7/2018 |
Advertising and promotion |
Las Vegas |
1-7-2018 to 1-8-2018 |
Public Relations |
International Markets (China, India, South Korea) |
1-8-2018 to 1-12-2018 |
Social media and internet campaign |
To promote the destination, different marketing tools will be used, which are given below:
The destination will be promoted by creating a page on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram etc. This is the most effective way to approach international visitors and students (Luttrell, 2016). |
|
Public Relations |
The tourism agencies will make mutual relationships with the people in domestic and international markets. |
Sales Promotion |
The destination will provide some beneficial and discounted offers to the visitors and travellers (Mariani, Di Felice, and Mura, 2016). It will make efforts to develop loyalty among visitors. |
There are some opportunities to local operators to participate in promotional campaign:
- To increase the number of their registered tourists in San Diego.
- To provide the discounted offers for specific customer segments.
- To increase their own profits and revenues
- To generate awareness about their products and services.
- Budget
To promote the destination, a budget will be created that will include all the elements with the costs:
Budget |
|
Elements |
Amount |
Promotional Tools |
|
Campaign Funding |
$50,000 |
Trip Giveaways |
$60,000 |
Brochures |
$10,000 |
Total Promotional Funds |
$120,000 |
Printing & Press |
$7,000 |
Merchandize |
$20,000 |
Website Management |
$50,000 |
Staff Employed (Salaries) |
$60,000 |
Total Estimated Budget |
$257,000 |
After the implementation of promotional plan, it will be evaluated by considering the attainment of marketing objectives. The plan will be evaluated after the one year of implementation and it will be analyzed by the tourism authorities of San Diego (Scott, 2015). The tourism authorities will analyze the arrival of targeted markets to San Diego in last one year. By doing this, they will be able to analyze the effectiveness of marketing and promotional campaign of San Diego.
References
Agarwal, R., Grassl, W. and Pahl, J, 2012, SWOT: introducing a new strategic planning tool. Journal of Business Strategy, 33, pp. 12.
Alonso, A. D., and Ogle, A., 2010, Tourism and hospitality small and medium enterprises and environmental sustainability. Management Research Review, 33 pp. 818-826.
Ardahaey, F.T., 2011, Economic Impacts of Tourism Industry. International Journal of Business andManagement, 6, pp. 206-215.
George, E.W., Mair, H. and Reid, D.G., 2009, Rural Tourism Development: Localism and Cultural Change. UK: Channel View Publications.
Landvoigt, T., Piazzesi, M., and Schneider, M., 2015, The housing market (s) of SanDiego. American Economic Review, 105, pp. 1371-1407.
Luttrell, R., 2016, Social Media: How to Engage, Share, and Connect, US: Rowman & Littlefield.
Mariani, M.M., Di Felice, M. and Mura, M., 2016. Facebook as a destination marketing tool: Evidence from Italian regional Destination Management Organizations. Tourism Management, 54, pp. 321-343.
San Diego Education, 2018, San Diego Continuing Education [Online]. Available from: https://www.sdce.edu/. (Accessed 7 April 2018).
San Francisco Travel, 2017, San Francisco Travel Presents Tourism Forecast for 2017, [Online]. Available from: https://www.sftravel.com/article/san-francisco-travel-presents-tourism-forecast-2017. (Accessed 7 April 2018).
Sandiego.org., 2018, Top Things to Do. [Online]. Available at: https://www.sandiego.org/explore/things-to-do.aspx. (Accessed 7 April 2018).
Scott, D.M., 2015. The new rules of marketing and PR: How to use social media, online video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, and viral marketing to reach buyers directly. US: John Wiley & Sons.
The Statistics Portal, 2018, Las Vegas: visitors 2017 | Statistic. [Online]. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/221042/visitors-to-las-vegas/. (Accessed 7 April 2018).
Tore, O., 2018, Los Angeles Welcomes Record number of Visitors in 2017. [Online]. Available from https://ftnnews.com/other-news/33608-los-angeles-welcomes-record-number-of-visitors-in-2017.html. (Accessed 7 April 2018).
Upton, N., Teal, E.J. and Felan, J.T., 2010, Strategic and Business Planning Practices of Fast Growth Family Firms. Journal of Small Business Management.
Weisberg, L., 2017, San Diego Attracted Record Number Of Visitors In 2016 [Online]. Available from https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/tourism/sd-fi-tourism-record-20170217-story.html. (Accessed 7 April 2018).
Woodside. A.G. and Martin, D., 2008, Tourism Management: Analysis, Behaviour and Strategy. UK: CABI Publications.