Abstract:

Even though new product development is one of the most written about topics in market research, very little of the published literature is concerned with the travel and leisure industries. If successful n.p.d. is the lifeblood of the world of fast moving consumer goods, is there any reason why this should not be equally TRUE in leisure, which is the fastest growing industry in the world? Very little use is made of "classic" research techniques in n.p.d. for travel, tourism and leisure, reflecting the "differentness" of these industries: the heavy orientation towards selling instead of marketing in much of travel, the imponderable effects of external events and the intangibility of many leisure-time products militate against "normal" research methodologies and call for innovative approaches. Key areas where market researchers can make a real contribution include desk research, re-analysis of existing research data, Qualitative approaches, stated preference techniques, observational studies among competitors' clients and catchment area studies. But Perhaps the major challenge to the researcher is to offer techniques which can effectively rival the ability of many companies in the leisure industries to test market; new products in the "real world". The paper provides brief examples of case histories where traditional research methods have been used with varying success, whore innovative techniques have proved highly successful and where the absence of any research at all has not prevented effective new product launches.