Looking into the overlooked: incoming tour operators and early tourism development in Gabon

摘要

For a few years, Gabon has demonstrated increasing signs of its willingness to develop tourism. This has led a growing number of individuals and/or companies to seek opportunities and invest in the inbound tourism sector. Yet Gabon still presents high barriers to tourism development, resulting in major constraints upon tourism firms. This paper focuses on the particular example of incoming tour operators (ITOs); ITOs play a role in tourism distribution but have received little attention in the literature. This study seeks to better understand their profiles as well as their marketing and channel behaviours in the Gabonese fledgling tourism industry. Based on semi-structured interviews held in 2011 2012 with 11 ITOs in Gabon, the study outcomes show that ITO marketing and channel behaviours were rational and growth-oriented and were influenced by company profiles, demand requirements and the position of power of ITOs in the distribution channel. The accessibility, comfort and reliability of products/suppliers stood out as key factors in the upstream or downstream channel behaviours of ITOs (selection of suppliers vs. selection of customers). Most respondents considered vertical integration as an appropriate strategy to improve the supply channel.