Developing a tourism consumer customer journey and improving content management : a case company Development West Coast

Abstract

This thesis was developed as a learning diary from working as a Digital Marketing Officer for Development West Coast, a regional development agency based in New Zealand. As the role includes responsibility for social media management and content creation for the West Coast's Regional Tourism Organization (RTO), this thesis focuses on researching the tourism consumer customer journey in the West Coast region and the involvement of social media in this journey, utilizing theories such as the Hierarchy of Effects model. Additionally, due to the lack of a proper social media content planning tool, available tools are researched to find a solution tailored to the unique needs of the RTO. The findings highlight the importance of social media in today's customer journey within the tourism industry. Social media can influence various stages of the journey, and for younger generations like Gen Z, it is seen to play a crucial role from dreaming about a holiday to sharing their experiences.

A gap in the tourism consumer journey was identified through this learning diary thesis, particularly focusing on the planning phase from the RTO's perspective on the West Coast. The RTO’s website sources were unable to clearly inform visitors about how to get to the region and other practical information, such as a map of the region indicating the main areas to visit. This information is considered valuable to ensure that the region doesn't lose potential visitors in the middle of their customer journey. In conclusion, this learning diary emphasizes the importance of analyzing the customer journey to identify areas for improvement, the crucial role of social media in the customer journey, and the necessity of selecting the right content management tool to support day-to-day tasks for overall success.