The Use of Up-Selling Techniques in Tourism Businesses and Expectations Regarding Their Future Use

Abstract

Up-selling is a sales technique aimed at persuading consumers to purchase a higher-quality and more expensive product than the one they have selected. Businesses that successfully implement up-selling techniques have seen increases in sales, profitability, business image, and customer satisfaction levels. For this reason, many businesses in various fields utilise this technique. However, the upselling technique should be used in accordance with ethical values and in the interests of the customer. The main objective of the upselling technique is to recommend the product or service that best meets the customer's needs. The aim of this research is to determine the expectations regarding the current and future use of the up-selling technique in tourism businesses. In the snowball sampling research, 10 tourism academics specialising in up-selling and 10 industry representatives were interviewed. Research data was collected using the interview technique, one of the qualitative research methods. Content analysis was applied to the collected data. According to the findings, up-selling in tourism businesses is used to increase profitability, sales, customer satisfaction, and business image, particularly in businesses offering accommodation, food and beverage, travel, souvenirs, and transportation services. It is stated that upselling technique training is not provided in educational institutions offering tourism education and that training in this area is necessary. This will increase the number of staff who successfully apply the upselling technique. To increase the use of the up-selling technique in the future, it is necessary to provide training on the up-selling technique in schools and workplaces that offer tourism education and to reward staff who successfully apply the up-selling technique.