| Summary: | The marketing of tourism establishments is becoming increasingly important worldwide as the tourism industry continues to grow. The competitive nature of the tourism industry stresses the need for more effective marketing and a clear understanding of the key success factors (KSFs) for marketing. Therefore this study was carried out to identify the KSFs for marketing a tourism establishment in Lesotho. KSFs for marketing are defined as the capabilities that a tourism establishment needs in a sub-market to differentiate itself attractively from its rivals. This study provides tourism marketers and managers of tourism establishments with insights that will assist them to determine and implement the KSFs for marketing their establishments. A quantitative approach was employed by means of a selfadministered questionnaire. The results revealed that the following KSFs are regarded as important for marketing tourism establishments in Lesotho: conduct thorough marketing planning, enhance the attractiveness of the tourism establishment, effectively advertise the establishment, ensure the accessibility of the tourism establishment, perform strategic marketing management to improve tourist satisfaction, conduct marketing research, manage service quality, effectively communicate with staff and tourists, promote the tourism establishment through different marketing mediums and achieve tourist loyalty. The findings of this study are of critical importance to effectively and successfully market tourism establishments in Lesotho and offer value for other SADC nations’ tourism marketing initiatives. The study also contributes to the knowledge of tourism marketing and provides practical suggestions on the implementation of the KSFs for marketing a tourism establishment. The implications of the study are discussed as well as the limitations and suggestions for future research.
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