The Impact of 4Ps Marketing Mix in Tourism Development in the Mountain Areas: A Case Study
Purpose: This research is aimed to find out the relationship of marketing mix 4Ps (Price, Product. Process and Promotion) in tourism development in the mountain areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Methodology: To carry out the current study, a total of 509 self-administered questionnaires were distributed among the tourists to collect the data which was analysed by using SPSS and Partial Least Square (PLS). PLS-SEM was applied to find out the relationship between variables and test the strength of model. Findings: The key findings are consistent with other studies while price mix and promotion mix are in contrast from others showing insignificant relationship in tourism development. There is evidence from the results that tourists are not concerned about the expenses which include mountaineering royalty fee, trekking royalty fee and other expenses while they tour to mountain areas. Therefore, it can be argued that price becomes less important for tourists to be considered, so, the relationship of price mix with the tourism development is insignificant. Another argument may come up regarding promotion mix that traditional advertisements have become obsolete now and majority of tourists use social media as it is also evidenced in the study that majority of tourists get information from social media sources, therefore, traditional promotion mix has no influence on attracting tourist towards the destinations. Practical Implication: In addition to the contribution to existing body of knowledge, this study helps policy makers and managers of tourism sector to formulate proper plans by considering tourism marketing strategies for the development of tourism in mountain areas of Pakistan. Originality/Values: This study contributes to find out the relationship of 4Ps-marketing mix with tourism development in the mountain areas of northern Pakistan.