A Conceptual and Empirical Framework for the Development of a Country Wide Loyalty Scheme Servicing the Cyprus Tourism Industry

Abstract

Customer loyalty programs have become more popular in today’s competitive business environment even though they have stimulated the attention of the hospitality industry since the mid 80’s. Shifting from the mainstream conquest marketing, that is, the constant search for new customers, the tourism industry has focused its attention on loyalty and retention marketing via the development of loyalty schemes. While many segments of the industry have successfully developed and utilized loyalty programs/schemes in the past three decades, the development of a holistic and integrated country-wide customer loyalty scheme still poses major conceptual and methodological challenges. The empirical findings obtained in this paper have both conceptual and methodological implications as well as added value for tourism policymakers and industry stakeholders when planning promotion strategies for tourism destinations worldwide.