MARKETING THE HOTEL SECTOR IN ECONOMIC CRISIS EVIDENCE FROM MAURITIUS

The rapid spread of the economic crisis has affected the number of international tourist arrivals and the hotel industry in many regions of the world with dwindling occupancy rates. Tourists are more likely to be price sensitive and change their buying patterns during periods of economic hardship. The economic crisis affected different regions of the world including the small island developing destination of Mauritius where uncertainty and doubts in the markets caused a decrease in tourist arrivals which resulted in a reduction in occupancy rates for its hotels. This study attempts to investigate the marketing mix strategies of product, price, place and promotion used by the hotel industry in these turbulent times to reduce decreasing occupancy rates. A survey was undertaken among 75 Marketing Managers of the hotel industry in Mauritius. As this is an exploratory study, the survey enabled the researcher to probe into the marketing mix strategies used by hotels during the economic crisis. The information gathered was analyzed using descriptive statistics and recommendations were suggested.