Honeymooning is an authentic and looming part of
the hospitality market niche, it is a sensation that have taken off universally
in recent years and which is becoming prevalent, especially for small islands
that highly depend on the tourism sector as a lucrative economic activity.
Tourism motivations are important factors in understanding tourist behaviour in
relation to destination’s choice, especially for the newlywed couples. Honeymoon
couples also known as romantic tourists, honeymooners, wedding couples, vow
renewal couples and dating couple, constitute a significant market for tourism
industry worldwide, (ABTA, 2012).
According to Kuoni Travel trends report
(2013), most of these couples choose to spend their time in beach-based
destinations like that of South East Asia, Pacific Ocean and Caribbean. Honeymoon
couple on average spend around US$10,000 and contribute a revenue of US$12
billion per annum to the hospitality industry (Sardone, 2012)., making the
sector very lucrative market niche for hotelier across the globe. This looming
benefits of the honeymoon niche market to the hospitality sectors across the
globe, isn't anything different from that of the Ghanaian market. Honeymoon business contributes significantly in eliminating or mitigating the issue of seasonality, increases occupancy levels,
increases food and beverage sales, and result in high patronage of leisure and
recreation facilities to generating extra income to an hotel operation. These makes its a worthwhile sector for an individual hotel management to explore the honeymoon niche.
What then is a honeymoon?
Webster-Merriam
(2015), defines a Honeymoon as “a trip or vacation taken by newly married couple
immediately after marriage”.
Indeed, newly married Couples
who decide to embark on honeymoon therefore, are confronted with a major
decision to take as to where to stay. These decisions of cause, are influenced by
certain intrinsic and extrinsic factors that create a desire to travel and
choose a particular exotic destination.
Most newly married
couples on the quest to honeymoon, mainly relies on the internet for past
reviews to evaluate tourist products, before they book for hotel accommodation. Holiday firms use tangible cues so that they ease the
uncertainty of clients by providing prospective honeymoon couple with
information, assurance and proof of the services they offer; for example,
brochures and website of honeymoon suites or hotel rooms,
to induce their motivations.
Motivations are those intrinsic and extrinsic
factors that stimulate a desire in an individual to travel and choose a
particular exotic destination
People travel for the reason that
they are pushed by psychological and pulled by external forces of the
destination attributes. Travel motivational factors are multi-dimensional since tourists do not
only seek to satisfy only one need but several distinct needs and wants
simultaneously.
Hence personal motives or so called push motives and the characteristics
of the destination also referred to as the pull motives determines a honeymoon couple’s choice
of accommodation within a particular destination.
Brief history about honeymoon
According
to an article released by DeAnna Kerley (2014), honeymooning dates back to the fifth (5th) Century, when cultures
represented calendar time with moon cycles. Back then, a newlywed couple drank
mead (honey) during their first moon of marriage. Mead is a honey-based
alcoholic drink believed to have aphrodisiac properties. Whilst most couples
today travel on their honeymoon to be alone, its wasn’t always that way.
Couples in the 19th Century used their honeymoon to go on a “Bridal Tour”,
where the pair traveled to visit friends and family who could not attend the
wedding ceremony”.
This
travels have evolved over time and is purportedly of the need for couples to show
and demonstrate belonging or affections towards each other.
According to a scholarly survey by Lee, Guillet, Law & Leung released in 2012, Newlyweds couples today, are the biggest demand for beach-based holiday
destination, despite the distance travelled suggests a growing trend for hotel operators to position themselves
appropriately to distinct itself from the competition. In a highly competitive
hotel industry, only those hoteliers with a clear vision of their guest needs will
survive and prosper.
Management's understanding of a couples need will aid in planning a post Covid19 honeymoon package for the socially-distanced couples that are in waiting for the fight over Covid19 to be won.
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