CONTENTS

Chapter One: Introduction. 3

Chapter Two: Company Background. 3

Chapter Three: Internal Analysis. 3

Chapter Four: External Analysis. 3

Chapter Five: Future Development and Conclusion. 3

References. 3

 

Chapter One: Introduction

Tourism marketing involves a process that entails monitoring customer needs and the formulation of strategies to market tourism products and experiences in the most effective way (Morrison, 2023). It includes the visitor behaviour analysis, development of attractive services, and conveying value to potential customers. Marketing in tourism stands out especially since services offered are intangible, making them experience-based and subject to customer perceptions and expectations. Theme parks are a major part of the tourism industry where the organisations have to draw the tourists into their park using robust branding, new attractions and experiential offerings. A notable case here is Thorpe Park, the largest theme park in the UK, which is run by Merlin Entertainments.

This report will have the purpose of evaluating the marketing environment of Thorpe Park as guided by internal and external marketing constructs. The report will give information on the background of the resort first, and then an internal analysis with the help of Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP). Porter's Five Forces External analysis is then done, and conclusions and recommendations are provided.

Chapter Two: Company Background

Thorpe Park is among the best known theme park resorts within the United Kingdom and it is a place that is situated in Surrey near London. Firstly, the park was launched in 1979 and over the years has evolved to become one of the biggest family leisure and entertainment parks that have attracted millions of people every year. The resort is especially associated with sensational roller coasters, immersive themed entertainment and seasonal activities that are aimed at providing a visitor with recollections. Thorpe Park is a Merlin group owned and operated entertainment park, which is among the biggest entertainment firms in the world. Merlin Entertainment operates many established attractions in Europe and the rest of the world and this gives Thorpe Park the solid brand name, investment opportunities and expertise in marketing.

Thorpe Park has a significant market in the UK leisure tourism market within the tourism sector. The fact that it is within the vicinity of the city of London means that it is able to capture both local and international tourists who may be in the capital city to visit it. The park is also a boost to the economy in the region as it provides employment opportunities, as well as tourist spending and collaboration with the local hospitality firms. Thorpe Park has established itself as one of the major themes in the theme park industry in the UK due to its focus on high-thrill rides and also on entertainment experiences.

Moreover, the resort has been investing in additional attractions and information technology in order to ensure a steady flow of visitors and keeps pace with other industry competitors in the leisure tourism business. The creation of new roller coasters, themed entertainment zones and seasonal events have enhanced the brand name of the park as a dominant thrill-based attraction. Such strategic achievements will enable Thorpe Park to encourage repeat customers and keep high number of customers in the UK market where theme parks are very competitive.

Chapter Three: Internal Analysis

An internal analysis is useful to determine how well a tourism organisation knows and satisfies its customers (Nilplengsang and Pankham,  2024). Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) framework gives a systematic method in the analysis of the marketing strategy and the capacity of Thorpe Park to address the demands of the visitors.

Segmentation entails the breaking down of the general market into groups of customers having common features. Thorpe Park divides its market based on a number of factors. The most important type of segmentation is the geographic, as the visitors of the United Kingdom, and special attention is paid to the visitors of London and some areas around it, but international tourists also visit the park and the capital. The demographic segmentation is directed more towards teenagers, young adults and friends who would desire to have an exhilarating entertainment (Uddin et.al. 2024). Another demographic group that can be identified is families with older children.

Psychographic segmentation takes into consideration the lifestyle and personality of the visitors. The primary target of Thorpe Park is persons who seek their adrenaline rush, thrill, and adventure. These tourists are driven by social experience, entertainment and the need to have unique recreational activities. Segmentation on behaviour is informed by the behavioural pattern of the visitors, such as repeat visitors, visiting seasonal events and also tourists visiting the country during holidays or leisure trips during weekends (McKercher et.al. 2023).

According to these segments, Thorpe Park uses differentiated targeting strategy. Various attractions, events, and marketing programmes are developed by the resort to appeal to various segments of visitors but still focus on the thrill seekers (Hudson and Hudson, 2023). As an example, themed events are desired by visitors to revisit major roller coasters and extreme rides, which attract young visitors. The park has positioned itself as a very exciting theme park in the United Kingdom. The concept behind its brand is on excitement, adventure and high intensity entertainment. The big competitors are the Alton Towers Resort, Chessington world of adventures resort, LEGOLAND windsor Resort and Drayton manor Resort. In perceptual map of comparison between the thrill intensity and family orientation, Thorpe Park would be rated highly on the thrill experiences but lower on the family-oriented attractions than thrill parks like Legoland (Bhasin, 2017).

Figure 1: Perceptual map

(Source: Self-generated, 2026)

 

Chapter Four: External Analysis

Porter's Five Forces model can be applied to analyse the external marketing environment of Thorpe Park, which evaluates the attractive nature of an industry and the level of competition in it. The first force is the competitive rivalry that is quite high in the UK theme park industry. Several well established attraction sites are also competing with the aim of attracting the tourists and individuals who require leisure and entertainment. The key competitors are the Alton Towers Resort, Chessington World of Adventures Resort, LEGOLAND Windsor Resort and Drayton Manor Resort. Their attractions are also family friendly rides, themed environment and accommodation place thereby making them have very stiff competition among the visiting people (George, 2025).

The bargaining power of the supplier is the second force. The theme park industry has moderate power over suppliers since parks rely on special suppliers of manufacturing rides, maintenance equipment, themed designs, food and merchandise. Nevertheless, the big players like Merlin Entertainments enjoy more power because of their size and buying abilities. The buying power of buyers is moderate to high. Tourists can now choose among various recreational options, and they can shop, bargain, and experience at will, thus making decisions with comparisons (Schwietering et.al. 2024). This means that theme parks should consistently improve their experiences and promotional activities to be able to appeal to customers.

Certain entrants can be considered as having low threat due to the fact that creating a theme park is very expensive in terms of capital requirements, a great portion of land and rigid safety standards. The barriers restrict the entry of new competitors in the market (Challoumis-Κωνσταντίνος Χαλλουμής, 2024). And finally, there is a medium risk of substitutes. The same types of leisure such as going to movie theatres, attending festivals as well as going to tourism sites and playing with digital devices can replace the visits to theme parks. To stay relevant in the tourism market, Thorpe Park therefore requires to continue innovating and improving the visitor experiences to ensure that the business stays competitive (Kotler, Armstrong and Balasubramanian, 2023).

Chapter Five: Future Development and Conclusion

The marketing audit identifies some of the problems affecting the further evolution of Thorpe Park. The internal analysis indicates that the resort has a clear market position of thrill-seeking tourists and youthful adults, which makes it special compared to theme parks that are more family-oriented. However, the external analysis demonstrates that the park has been working in a very competitive environment with high competition with other major attractions as well as domestic options of entertainment available to consumers being increasingly accessible (Schanzel, 2025).

Going forward, Thorpe Park will require to invest more in digital marketing and tailor promotional campaigns though the data about visitors to improve its marketing strategy. Future development of more theme-based attractions and extensions on event experiences can be used to augment the commitment of the clientele and their interest to return. Furthermore, the practise of sustainable tourism and environmentally friendly operations would better the image of the park and address the shift in consumer demands (Rasul et.al. 2024).

In conclusion, Thorpe Park has effectively held a primary position in the market, but ongoing innovation and strategic marketing advancements are all that would make the park stay competitive in the long run.

 

References

Bhasin, H. (2017). 4 types of Market segmentation and how to segment with them?. [online] Marketing91.com. Available at: https://www.marketing91.com/4-types-market-segmentation-segment

Challoumis-Κωνσταντίνος Χαλλουμής, C. (2024) The role of competition in private enterprise and its implications for market efficiency. Constantinos Challoumis, pp.27-34.https://economics-and-finance.com/arc/EF_2024_3(27-34).pdf

George, R. (2025) Marketing tourism destinations. In Marketing tourism and hospitality: Concepts and cases (pp. 415-449). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-65983-6_14

Hudson, S. and Hudson, L. (2023) Marketing for tourism, hospitality & events: a global & digital approach. https://www.torrossa.com/gs/resourceProxy?an=5730618&publisher=FZ7200

Kotler, P., Armstrong, G. and Balasubramanian, S. (2023) Principles of Marketing, Global Edition. 19 th edn. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited

McKercher, B., Tolkach, D., Eka Mahadewi, N.M. and Byomantara, D.G.N. (2023) Choosing the optimal segmentation technique to understand tourist behaviour. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 29(1), pp.71-83. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/13567667221078240

Morrison, A.M. (2023) Marketing and managing tourism destinations. Routledge.https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003343356/marketing-managing-tourism-destinations-alastair-morrison

Nilplengsang, Y. and Pankham, S. (2024) Beyond stp marketing strategy for online service businesses. Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental, 18(6), pp.1-26. https://search.proquest.com/openview/fe23cf282b9e78c847f8bc6cd50dff02/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2031968

Rasul, T., Lim, W.M., O’Connor, P., Ahmad, A., Farhat, K., de Oliveira Santini, F. and Junior Ladeira, W. (2024) Immersive virtual reality experiences: Boosting potential visitor engagement and attractiveness of natural world heritage sites. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 29(5), pp.515-526.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10941665.2024.2332993

Schänzel, H. (2025) Family tourism. In Encyclopedia of Tourism (pp. 386-387). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-030-74923-1_258.pdf

Schwietering, A., Steinbauer, M., Mangold, M., Sand, M. and Audorff, V. (2024) Digitalisation of planning and navigating recreational outdoor activities. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research, 54(1), pp.107-114. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12662-023-00927-1

Uddin, M.A., Talukder, M.A., Ahmed, M.R., Khraisat, A., Alazab, A., Islam, M.M., Aryal, S. and Jibon, F.A. (2024) Data-driven strategies for digital native market segmentation using clustering. International Journal of Cognitive Computing in Engineering, 5, pp.178-191.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666307424000135