Executive brief
Blackpool is one of the largest and most popular resorts in the UK. It’s famous as a traditional British seaside destination, particularly known for the golden sands, promenade and world-class attractions such as Blackpool Tower and The Blackpool Pleasure Beach, featuring some of the UK’s fastest and tallest rollercoasters.
Blackpool attracts 18.2m visitors per year, but, crucially, only around 100,000 are international visitors. VisitBlackpool (https://www.visitblackpool.com) is the company responsible for promoting this destination and they are keen to make Blackpool a destination of choice for international tourists.
To help, they have invited students of B.A. International Business Communication and B.A. Language for International Business to write a report for Marketing Manager Nicola Atanassova on how to raise the profile of Blackpool to international visitors as a destination: either as part of their UK itinerary or as a stand-alone destination. Ultimately, Nicola wants you to create a strategy which raises the profile of Blackpool as a destination of choice for international visitors to the UK.
Nicola is looking for recommendations and research on:
• What international visitors are looking for when visiting a UK destination
• Which international markets segments to target
• How to target and enter these markets
• Possible partners and strategic international alliances and advice on building relationships with international partners
• A CSR strategy/ sustainable policies which would help attract international visitors
• Suggestions on how to make VisitBlackpool’s corporate culture and structure more internationally focussed
• how to control VisitBlackpool’s international operations

Background to Blackpool
Blackpool is a large town and seaside resort on the Lancashire coast in England. The town is on the Irish Sea, 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Preston and one hour drive time from key cities such as Manchester and Liverpool and their respective international airports.
Visitors started coming to Blackpoll in the late 18th Century attracted to Blackpool’s 7-mile (11 km) sandy beach. Stagecoaches began running to Blackpool from Manchester and by the 1840s Blackpool rose to prominence as a major centre of tourism in England after a railway had been built connecting it to the industrialised regions of Northern England.
Shifts in tastes, combined with opportunities for Britons to travel overseas, affected Blackpool’s status as a leading resort in the late 20th century but the resort continues to attract millions of visitors every year.
Blackpool’s major attractions and landmarks include Blackpool Tower, Blackpool Illuminations, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool Zoo, Sandcastle Waterpark, the Winter Gardens, and the UK’s only surviving first-generation tramway.

Background to VisitBlackpool
VisitBlackpool is tasked with promoting the UK’s most popular holiday destination to a worldwide audience.
As the tourism arm of Blackpool Council, they work closely with local partners and stakeholders to showcase the best that Blackpool has to offer its visitors.
Their role is to provide strategic leadership, guidance and advice on tourism and the visitor economy in Blackpool and to deliver services that attract and service the visitor that supports tourism businesses throughout Blackpool.
Process
1. Conduct a thorough research into Blackpool as a resort and identify core and distinctive competencies.
2. Scope the current national and international competitors to Blackpool as a holiday resort
3. Carry out an in-depth research into potential international target markets and demographics
4. Devise a market entry strategy you would recommend for them to follow in order to enable the Blackpool brand to reach into your recommended market/s
5. Identify potential strategic alliances and external actors within your target markets
6. Undertake an analysis of the VisitBlackpool’s internal environment and identify ways to make it more internationally focussed as a company.
7. Recommend suitable CSR strategies that would be appropriate to implement and would help attract your international target market.
8. Identify means of controlling your suggested operations.

Suggested Report Layout and Guidance (Max. 2000 words)
1. Title Page
Indicate in the title exactly what the report is about and who it is prepared for. Also, include module code, course and student ID (*not your name*) and deadline date along with the declaration, which can be found at the end of this brief.
2. Executive Summary
This section should comprise a brief overview (a paragraph or two) of the report. You need a short explanation of the task (terms of reference), the research methods used, conclusions (the key opportunities identified) and your recommendations.
It needs to be concise, and sections should not be copied and pasted from the report.
3. Table of Contents
Here you need to list all the main sections in sequence. Make sure you indicate which item appears on which page. A separate section titled ‘List of Illustrations’ should be used if you have placed graphs, charts, etc. in the report.
4. Introduction (100 words)
In this section, introduce the report and the various sections you have included. Also mention what you aim to accomplish at the end of this report. (Remember, write this section after you have completed the entire report.)
5. Scan of the international business environment (600 words). (Use sub-headings and sections here and clearly identify them.)
You are recommended to carry out a complete scan of the international business environment at all levels: macro; micro/ meso; internal.
• At the macro level this will involve analysing the key macro forces, both nationally and internationally, that impact Blackpool as a resort for international visitors
• At the micro/ meso level this means analysing the UK and international tourist market and identifying competitors to Blackpool as an international resort.
• At an internal level you should identify Blackpool’s core/ key competencies and competitive advantages, as well as its weaknesses as an international resort. Also, you will need to assess and evaluate VisitBlackpool in its ability to develop an international market.
6. Identification and Analysis of Key Opportunities (700 words). (Use sub-headings and sections here and clearly identify them.)
After analysing the business environment, you need to identify and critically evaluate key opportunities for Blackpool as an international resort:
• Identify potential international target markets and demographics
• Devise a market entry strategy you would recommend for them to follow in order to enable the Blackpool brand to reach into your recommended market/s
• Identify potential strategic alliances and external actors within your target markets
7. Implementation of operations (500 words)
In this section you set out your recommendations for how VisitBlckpool can operate appropriately to develop an international market. You need to cover the following areas:
• Suggest a suitable CSR strategy that would be appropriate to implement and would help attract your international target market.
• Suggestions on how to make VisitBlackpool’s corporate culture and structure more internationally focussed
• how to control and maintain VisitBlackpool’s international operations
8. Conclusion (100 words)
As well as summarising your argument and highlighting your key points, this section should also address your report’s limitations.
9. References
This will contain an alphabetical list of all the references you have cited in the body of the report. Do not include details of any sources you have not cited. Ensure the style used is correct and consistent with the Harvard Referencing System.
Remember LAST name first!
10. Appendices (e.g Full SWOT, PEST etc.)
Your appendices should showcase your data and be presented professionally*
IMPORTANT – DO NOT EXPLAIN THEORY; USE IT!
Here is a list (although not exhaustive) of core theories/models that may be useful for this report) you do not need to use all of them):
• SWOT analysis
• PESTLE analysis
• Porter’s diamond
• Market Entry Strategies
• Hofstede’s Five Cultural Dimensions
• Value Chain Analysis
• Porter’s Five Forces
• Porter’s Generic Strategies
• Competitive Advantage
• Stakeholder theory
• Triple Bottom Line
• Leadership/ management styles/ behaviours
• Schein’s levels of the corporate culture
• International Strategic Alternatives and structures
It is important to focus on the core management theories for this report. Reference to functional strategies and theories (such as marketing theories like 4 Ps) is fine but they should be the focus.
Report Requirements
• Length: 2, 000 words (+/- 10%) plus appendices
• Deadline: Monday 29th March 2021 at 12:00PM
• Font size should be 12-point; margins at least 2.5 cm and line spacing 1.5-2.
• The following details must be on the front of the assignment: student ID, assignment title, module code/title, tutor’s name, date of submission and the below declaration:
I confirm that this assignment which I have submitted is all my own work and the source of any information and material I have used (including the Internet) has been fully identified and properly acknowledged as required in the School guidelines I have received.
Handing in the assignment
You will need to provide an electronic copy only.
• Login to Blackboard using your ID and password
• Find EB3803 (BI3001) module link
• Click on the link Assignment 2 Report
• Submit one copy of your Report