Business-charity-government strategic partnership: applying cause-related marketing in Thailand's tourism program

Abstract

The current cause-related marketing concept mainly focuses on the relationships between charities and private firms. Very little research has investigated the role of government in the cause-related marketing concept. The government agencies such as the National Tourism Organisation (NTO) in Thailand often play a key role in Thai tourism industry as they regulate policies to both for-profit and non-profit organisations in the country. Thus, it is inappropriate to ignore the important role of the government in tourism marketing strategy. This paper provides an example of how the NTO may apply cause-related marketing to establish partnership tourism program, particularly after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Thailand. The key contribution of the paper is to highlight the significance of business-charity-government strategic partnership.