Marketing culture and customer retention in the tourism industry

During the last few years considerable attention has been focused on the essence of cultivating a culture which fosters the effective operationalisation of marketing practices in tourism firms. This issue is considered an important source of competitive advantage in the tourism industry where sophisticated marketing is still in its developmental stages. Considering the high level of interaction between a tourism firm and its customers, the significance of effective marketing activities cannot be overstated. In addition, marketing academics and managers assert that a strong marketing culture will leas to customer retention via customer satisfaction. This study is based on an empirical examination of the link between UK tourism firms' marketing culture and customer retention. Our results reveal a moderately strong relationship between marketing culture and customer retention. Finally, implications of the findings for tourism managers and avenues for future research are discussed.