Contemporary Tourism
Contemporary Tourism
Destination Marketing
Lecture Objectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Understand the process and outcomes of contemporary destination marketing
Appreciate the importance of engaging with all stakeholders in contemporary
destination marketing
Understand the formation and characteristics of the destination image
Be aware of strategic approaches to contemporary destination marketing
Understand the formation and characteristics of destination brands
Recognise the role that technology, particularly the Internet, can play in
contemporary destination marketing
Appreciate the structure and roles of destination marketing organizations
Recognise that destination marketing is surrounded by a range of issues and
questions relating to the ability of a destination to be marketed as the
equivalent of a product or brand
Destination Marketing
• A process and outcome
• Many stakeholders
• Marketers must
– Manage stakeholders
– Formulate and manage the brand
• Dates back to mid 19th century
• Branding is the glue that holds destination
marketing together
• Operates at a variety of scales
Destination Image
• ‘The attitude, perception, beliefs and ideas
one holds about a particular geographic area
formed by the cognitive mage of a particular
destination’ (Gartner, 2000)
Benefits
• Securing the emotional link to, and loyalty of,
visitors;
• Coordination of the private sector and other
stakeholders through cooperative marketing;
• Acting as a base for promotion of other products
such as investment, economic development, film,
and TV;
• Facilitating and encouraging the use of local
products and design; and
• Facilitating seamless market communication of the
destination.
Destination Image
• A simplified version of reality
• Critical due to:
– Intangible nature of the destination
– Inseparable nature of consumption
• Components
– Cognitive
– Effective
– Conative
Destination Image
• Formation
– Induced agents
– Organic agents
– Autonomous agents
Images Achieve:
1. Communicate messages about destinations.
2. Redefine and reposition destinations.
3. Counter negative, and enhance positive, perceptions about destinations.

T arget key market areas.
Aims of DMOs
•
•
•
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
Enhancing destination image;
Increasing industry profitability;
Reducing seasonality; and
Ensuring long-term funding.
Destination Strategy
• Gilbert’s commodity/status approach
• Cooper/Jain’s strategic life cycle
approach
• Positioning
Destination Branding
• Art and cornerstone of marketing
• Approaches
– Product plus
– Holistic
Designing the Brand
• Blueprint for branding developing and
marketing the destination
– Positioning
– Product formulation
– Nesting the brand
– Communication strategy
Designing the Brand
• 4 Steps
– Brand assessment
– Brand promise
– Brand architecture
– Internalizing the brand
Technology and DMOs
• Save on print and distribution costs;
• Directly target and manage customers through
email; and
• Provide content of great depth and visual quality.
Technology
• Structure of destination web sites varies
according to:
– Destination factors
– Technological factors
Technology
• Destination web sites evolve according to the
eMICA model
• Assessment of destination web sites done
according to:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Access
Identity and trust
Customization
Navigation
Search engines
Technical performance
Services offered
Destination Management
Organizations
•
•
•
•
Vulnerable to disintermediation
Provide leadership
Structures vary
Strategy acts as umbrella marketing
agency
Issues
• Role of the public sector
• Role of destination stakeholders
• The nature of the destination